Hostage
by TCGeek
Summary: After Derek can't save a patient that was in a horrific accident, a chain of events unravels, eventually putting everyone Derek loves at risk... After all is said and done, who will make it out alive?
1. Frozen

**This, is my new venture. I better explain it before I start, as to put any confusion to rest.**

**I'm going to Tarantino this one. This chapter is the near-end of the story (not the actual end, but close). So, I'm going to present this chapter, and then work from the beginning towards it, to create a bit of suspense. I've never written in this style, so this is me branching out once more! Be nice if you hate the way I'm doing this, but... I hope you'll all enjoy it. Hooray for trying new things!**

**Once again. I'm going to start at the near-end, and work from the beginning starting next chapter. Don't get mad at me, for this is kind of gorey and I rated it M for safety (even though I don't think it'll need it)**

**ENJOY!**

**PS: Derek and Angie's conversation is in italics, the lyrics from the song that is playing are in parenthesis (to clear up any confusion)**

* * *

Sound was non-existent, for she had screamed herself nearly deaf. Angie could feel her lips moving, breath expelling from her mouth – she was still screaming his name, over and over, but he didn't hear her. At that time, the iPod skipped to the song he hated so much, and her mind reverted back to when they had that fateful conversation just a few days ago – the conversation which had become a reality to them both. The lyrics to the song and the words he had said to her spun through her mind, as she willed herself to try to get to him, her heartbeat pounding in her eardrums.

(You touched my heart and you touched my soul)

_I couldn't imagine not fighting back, just sitting there at a time like that…_

Angie tried rising to her feet unsuccessfully, her left leg throbbing, the bullet still lodged inside of it. The pain shot through her whole body as she put weight on it, immediately collapsing back down on the ground with a hopeless cry.

(You changed my life and all my goals)

Time seemingly stopped. If she could just get to him, she could save him… get him to open his eyes once more. She needed to get there…

_Of course I'd fight back… especially if someone I loved was in any sort of danger._

Letting the injured leg hang limp, Angie dug her fingertips into the cold tile, crawling towards his unconscious form. Neither he nor the man were moving, despite her constant wailing screams.

(And love is blind and that I knew when… my heart was blinded by you)

Tears flowed from her eyes at a rapid pace and wet the tile, making her hands slip as she tried to pull herself forward, fighting to get to him before it was too late.

_So you're saying that if it's a choice between you and them…_

(I've kissed your lips and held your hand)

"DEREK… PLEASE DEREK… WAKE UP!" she shouted, barely able to get out the words through her fit of sobs.

(I've shared your dreams and shared your bed)

…_you take the bullet?_

Grappling against the tile, she used the toes from her uninjured leg to propel herself forward, pulling herself the rest of the way with her arms. She shook like crazy, having seemingly cried out all the strength in her body, but pressed on… only ten feet separated them now.

(I know you well, I know your smell)

His light brown hair fell over the top of his head, its ends resting on the same tile of which she was crawling across, her leg still bleeding profusely. Angie never took her eyes off of him, desperate to find any signs of life.

_Absolutely I take the bullet – no questions asked._

Forgetting the pain momentarily, she pushed with her left leg instead of her right, throwing her into a round of painful shrieks as she rolled to her side, gripping the gaping wound. It didn't matter now – nothing mattered now unless he was alive.

"Derek, SAY SOMETHING.. PLEASE?!"

(…I've been addicted to you)

_You seriously mean that? You would put yourself in that position? _

Angie rolled back onto her stomach, gripping onto the tile once more as she grit her teeth together, trying to press on through the searing pain. She was closing in on the body of her doctor, her friend…

(Goodbye, my lover…)

…the man she had fallen in love with. The man who had taken a bullet for her, the woman he loved as well.

_When you love someone, and their life is at stake… _

Angie stretched her arm out as far in front of her as it would go, her fingertips grazing his hair… she was so close…

"Dammit, Derek, stay with me…"

She pulled herself next to him, looking at his face, still, eyes closed, the gash on his forehead trickling blood onto the floor. With what little strength she had left, she pulled herself up, all her weight onto her right leg, as she threw every bit of her 120 pound frame into rolling that bastard off of him. Once he had been pushed off, she noticed that Derek was in fact, still breathing, but her relief turned back to indescribable horror as she laid her eyes on the giant pool of blood that had stained the middle of his scrubs – directly around the center of his spine.

(Goodbye, my friend)

Angie laid back down on the floor, positioning her face right next to his, where she begged him to open his eyes, to be okay…

"Derek – please, don't do this… _please…_" she sobbed, her hands rubbing his face, waiting for a sign… ANY sign…

"I-I, love you.. Derek… I love you… s-so much… please, wake up…"

(You have been the one…)

She pulled herself back up into a sitting position, careful not to yell in his ears.

"SOMEBODY HELP! -- PLEASE!! … PLE-EASE!!" she shrieked, returning back down to examine his unconscious form. Angie laid on her stomach next to him, holding his head in her arms as she cried for help, her face pressed against his, kissing his face repeatedly in between the blood-curdling screams. Never had she lost it like this before…

_I just always figured you do whatever it takes to save their life… _

(You have been the one for me…)

_...including give up your own._

…because she had never known the feeling of what's its like to lose everything.

* * *

**Okay. You'll see how this came about, starting next chapter. **

**See you then :)**


	2. Tension

I didn't forget about this story, it just took me a long time to figure out how this was going to happen. I STILL am not sure, but, this is the best I can give you all. So, here is how the whole craziness of the last chapter came to be. Well, not completely, but, here's how it started. Enjoy!!

* * *

Sunshine. Birds singing. Not a cloud in the sky. It was a beautiful morning. 

Closing the door, Angie let the crisp breeze brush her face as she got out of her doctor's car, who drove her to work every other week. Her heels clicked against the pavement as she walked around the car to where Derek was standing. One hand in his pocket, he held his keys in the other, locking the doors before returning the keys and the other hand to his pocket. He turned his gaze toward her, took in a big breath, and let it out, smiling, before they walked inside together.

The doors at Caduceus opened for the famous surgical duo and closed behind them, as they walked down the halls, greeting their coworkers on another Monday morning. Still slightly tired, Derek walked over to the elevator and pressed the up button, closing his eyes while he waited for the doors to open. His eyes snapped back open immediately as he heard Angie let out an annoyed sigh.

"I'm pretty sure that you can manage to walk up ONE flight of stairs, Dr. Stiles…" she stated, hands on her hips. When he whirled around to look at her, she raised her eyebrows at him, and when he still didn't move, she grabbed his elbow and pulled him after her towards the stairs. Derek let out a small whimper as Angie pulled him through the doorway to the stairwell, hearing the elevator doors open behind him.

"Yeah, its… okay, I'm not, you know… tired, or anything…" Derek muttered, out of breath at the top of the stairs.

"Oh, you're fine…" Angie replied, chuckling slightly at her doctor as he trailed behind her, still whining as he watched two nurses get off of the elevator.

Derek reached in his pocket for his keys and unlocked the door to his and Angie's office, heaving a big sigh as he flicked on the lights. He watched as Angie set her purse down on her desk, took out a tube of chapstick and applied it to her lips before smacking them together, and putting the tube back into her pocket. Derek sat at his desk and smiled as he watched Angie complete her morning ritual, before she turned around to look at him. He quickly looked away and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as his cheeks flared, desperately trying to make it seem like he was looking at something else. Angie, being the quick wit she was, noticed immediately, and took the opportunity to tease him.

"Did I, put on my chapstick wrong, Doctor?" she asked, smiling as she sat back in her chair, folding her arms across her chest.

Derek's cheeks turned nearly purple as he looked at her, stammering as she raised an eyebrow at him.

"Uh, it looks really good.. I, I mean, I wasn't looking.. at, I was.. uh, looking at…"

Angie laughed and rose from her chair and turned her back to Derek, as she bent over and opened middle drawer to her desk, rummaging through it for her paperwork. Derek watched from his desk, transfixed, before he shook his head to snap out of it, his cheeks flaring back up once more.

"She's got to be doing this on purpose…" he thought, still unable to stop looking at her. He couldn't help it – she was just soo…

"Doctor Stiles?" she asked, now facing him, paperwork in her hands, smiling. She had done that on purpose, and had totally caught him staring.

"Angie?" he replied, looking at her as if nothing was wrong, but unable to hide his purple face. Now he _really_ had dug himself a hole.

She knew exactly what was going on, but instead of calling him out on it, she giggled and tapped the stack of paperwork in her arms, signaling that they had work to do. She walked over and plopped down onto the couch as he slowly followed suit, still absolutely mortified at the chain of events that had just unfolded. He grabbed his own stack of paperwork and a pen, before sitting down next to her on the couch, careful to keep a little bit of distance between the two of them.

They dove headfirst into their giant stacks of paperwork, nothing else to do for the rest of the day besides that, and a meeting later on.

"Mind if I turn on the TV?" Angie asked, looking over at Derek, who was for once, actually working pretty hard.

"Go for it Angie." he replied, eyes still fixed on what he was writing. Angie watched for a moment as his surprisingly neat print scrawled across the forms, before she reached for the remote, turning on the TV that the two of them had bought for their office.

"Breaking News" was the only phrase that could rouse Derek from his paperwork-induced coma, both him and Angie looking up towards the screen to see what had happened.

"We're bringing you breaking news from US Bank in downtown Angeles Bay where a robbery is underway right now. If you are just joining us, police are trying to find a way to prevent further escalation in the bank after there were two shots fired after one of the hostages inside tried to fight back. We are told that the first shot did not harm anyone, but that the second struck a man who dove in front of his wife and unborn child, taking the bullet in his chest. The injured man was transported to Trinity hospital, but there is no word on his condition at the time."

Angie and Derek looked on in complete shock at the TV in silence as they abandoned their paperwork for the moment to watch the story unfold. Over the half hour that they had watched, the police had managed to get inside and detain the suspect, and get all of the victims in the bank out safely. Angie turned the channel shortly after, both of them exhaling at the same time.

"Wow.. I just, can't believe that. It's so awful…" Angie started, turning to look at Derek.

"Yeah – good for that guy for trying to fight back." he replied, before scribbling his signature on one of the forms.

Eyes widened, she shot a gaze at him in surprise. "Are you serious? You can't fight back when people are obviously unstable and armed – you don't know what they'll do. Even with all my Aikido training, I would never purposely start a scuffle…"

She turned her attention back to her paperwork, Derek now the one to look up and over at her.

"I couldn't imagine not fighting back, just sitting there at a time like that… I mean, if it was up to me, Of course I'd fight back… especially if someone I loved was in any sort of danger." he said softly, his brown eyes boring into the side of her head.

Angie glanced up at him for a moment, her gaze lingering before she pulled it back down to her paperwork.

"So you're saying that if it's a choice between you and them… if, you start a scuffle and someone points a gun at someone you love… you take the bullet?" she asked slowly, her pen signing her polished flowing signature, still looking down.

"_**Absolutely**_ I take the bullet – no questions asked." he replied.

The words sent a chill through Angie's body as she looked up and into his brown eyes which were soft, yet completely serious.

"You seriously mean that? You would put yourself in that position?"

Their eyes still locked, Derek replied. "When you love someone, and their life is at stake, I just figured you do anything you have to do to save their life…"

"Anything?" Angie asked quietly, still looking in his eyes.

"…including give up my own…" he replied, smiling at her softly.

Angie smiled back at him studying his eyes. She wasn't sure why, but in that moment, he was making her feel like she had felt many times before – like, she wanted _him_ to protect her, to, be with her. Shaking herself out of it, she turned back to her paperwork quietly once more, before she looked at him again.

"That's, amazing of you, Derek…" she said, nodding her head. "You're… a great guy."

Derek's heart skipped a beat and his cheeks blushed slightly as he turned down to his own paperwork, smiling as he began to fill out the forms once more.

"That guy, was a great guy – I admire anyone who would take a bullet for his pregnant wife.. it's, amazing.."

Angie smiled. "I agree…"

"I really still hope that I'll never be in a situation like that though…" Derek admitted, chuckling softly, as Angie nodded along.

The two of them chatted back and forth sparingly about unrelated topics as they continued to fill out their paperwork, and hours later, their stacks had finally whittled down to nothing.

"Ahhh.." Derek said, stretching out his arms and legs in front of him before he plopped back onto the couch, extending his head on the back of the couch and closing his eyes. When he heard quiet in the room, he opened his eyes and cocked his head over to the right, to see Angie resting her elbow on her knee, holding her forehead.

"Angie, what's wrong?" he asked, placing a hand on her back unwittingly.

"Oh, no Derek, I'm fine thank you… I just, have a headache, that's all…" she replied, turning to look at him, looking at his face full of concern.

"Is, there anything I can do to help?" he asked hand still softly settled on her back.

Angie smiled, pausing slightly before she looked away from him grabbing a pillow. He watched her confused as she picked it up and fluffed it, before placing it on his lap. His confusion turned to surprise and nervousness as she laid her head down on it, resting a hand on his leg. He sat in shock for a few seconds, incredibly happy, but unsure of what to do, before she opened her eyes and turned her face up sweetly at him.

"Is, it okay if I just lay here for a few minutes? I just, need for my head to stop throbbing…" she said, a pained smile on her face

"Oh, uh.. no, Angie – that's, perfectly fine, just… stay there, as uh, long as y-you want… I'll wake you up if anything happens.."

She flashed another small smile at him.

"Thank you Derek – I appreciate it.."

And with that, she turned over, now facing his stomach, as she closed her eyes and relaxed. Gently, Derek reached back and grabbed a blanket, which he pulled over her, a small happy sigh coming from her before she drifted off to sleep. He turned the TV on quietly, but didn't watch it at all – like he was going to pay attention to anything else when he had the woman he had feelings for sleeping in his lap.

He made sure that she was asleep before he brushed a small piece of hair from her face, his heart racing as his hand came in contact with her smooth skin. Derek rested an arm across her waist and around to her back, unable to stop looking at her. She was, beautiful – he couldn't help it, but he had to admit, that you could cut the sexual tension in the room with a knife. It had been awhile since they had known each other, and still, nothing had happened between them. Some days Derek thought that she liked him, others he wasn't sure – but all he really knew was that he was too nervous to ask her out. Oh well – for now, he was happy right where he was at.

He continued to watch TV, periodically looking down at her sleeping form, feeling her warm breath on his stomach. Every now and again, he would gently run fingers through her soft hair, smiling as he entertained thoughts that it was his girlfriend sleeping in his lap – not just his nurse. He reveled in one of these rare moments…

…before of COURSE, Tyler had to go and ruin it.

"Hey Derek, we ha— oh. _Oh…_"

The blond surgeon smiled as he walked into the room to see Angie laying in Derek's lap, his arm rested on her, her face turned in towards his stomach. Derek's gaze shot up to his friend and turned beet red, fully prepared for the barrage of mocking this would bring about, but although Tyler was smiling, something was off.

"Hey – I am _so_ going to grill you about this later – but Sidney sent me. An emergency patient is being transferred here in about ten minutes – stab wound, they need you in the OR immediately."

Derek's eyes widened as he went to stand, before remembering his sleeping nurse in his lap.

"I'll be there in two seconds…" he said, silently wishing that this moment wouldn't come to an end, but, sadly, it had to.

As Tyler exited the room, Derek sat up slightly, turning his attention back to Angie, still sleeping soundly in his lap. He softly rubbed her cheek before cradling her face in his hand. In a move he could only work up the nerve for when she was asleep, he leaned forward, and gently planted a kiss on her forehead, nervous to see what her reaction would be. He smiled when he saw a smile trickle onto her face, as she blinked a few times before her eyes opened fully, smiling again when she saw his face hovering over hers.

"Hmm… hi, Derek…" she said sleepily.

"…_did he just kiss me?!"_ she thought to herself, heart racing slightly.

"Hey, Ang – I hate to wake you up, but we've got an emergency patient that is ten minutes away – we have to go prep for surgery… stab wound."

This got Angie to shoot up, still on the couch facing Derek as she tried to wake herself up a little bit. Rubbing her face gently, she smiled at him before she got up off the couch, and straightened her uniform.

"Okay, let's go…" she said, smiling.

"…_and hopefully later, we can pick up where we left off…" _she thought again, squeezing his hand before she turned and walked out the door. Derek followed her.

As soon as the two of them got into the OR prep room, Sidney was already there to brief them.

"She should be here any minute Dr. Stiles – she's a woman, age unknown, stab wound to the abdomen. The knife is still in her stomach, for the paramedics feared that it is close to or has already knicked the abdominal aorta, which means, they've immobilized her."

"That's awful…" Angie started, scrubbing at her hands in the sink next to Derek. They traded glances, both of them still in the moment from their office, but they remained professional.

"So, what you're saying is, the slightest move, and the aorta gets cut?" Derek asked, shutting off the water and drying his hands.

"Yes, Derek – that's what I'm saying. So obviously, exercise the utmost precaution here, and, if need be, use the Healing Touch – this is a very delicate procedure." Sidney replied, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

Just then, the paramedics gently wheeled the woman into the OR. Derek could see the handle of what looked like a dagger from the prep room – a shudder lanced through him as he looked at the gold detail on the handle, before he followed Angie into the operating room.

"We need to anesthetize her first, Derek…" Cybil said, pulling out a syringe, before a man busted into the room.

"Sir!" Sidney said, stepping in front of him. "You'll have to wait outside."

"But that's, my wife…" he said, visibly shaken.

"Wait!" Cybil interjected. "Don't take him out yet! Sir, does your wife have any allergies to medications?"

"Um, no – not that I know of.. she's never had anesthetic… Please, just let me stay here.. let me... stay, with her" he said, slightly sobbing.

Derek's heart filled with sympathy for the man as he watched him struggle not to lose it, the woman he loved lying in front of him with a dagger in her stomach. He couldn't possibly imagine what the man was going through, but when he thought of Angie in the woman's place, it all started to come into perspective. He shuddered as he shook the thought right out of his head, still watching as the man grappled to get past Sidney.

"I'm sorry sir, but this is a sterile environment. Come with me, and you can wait right outside.." Sidney said, pulling the man towards the door, who reluctantly obeyed him.

Derek's eyes turned from the man, to Angie, who locked eyes with him, before they both stared down at the woman, who was already under and ready to go. Derek looked at Angie once more, his hand outstretched in front of her.

"Scalpel."

* * *

Okay, yes. MoonCat is right, I am a hopeless romantic. But trust me, everything that happened here is a very vital part to the story later on, so, deal with it :) 

I promise I won't neglect this story for so long again, now that I know what's going to happen. So, I will see you next time! Adios!


	3. Asystole

**Whoa - am I missing something? This editing page is really different.. hmm.**

**So sue me. I FINALLY got around to updating, what with all the hullabaloo going on in "First Comes Love..." I thought for awhile about scrapping this but something kept me from doing it and I'm not sure what.. (cough.. ITB.. cough)**

**Just to warn, this chapter features a bit of strong language. It is rated M, after all...**

**Jack and Katherine Corrigan (c) Me.  
Everyone else (c) Atlus**

**DID YOU GUYS SEE THE NB WEBSITE?! OMG, YOU KNOW ALL THOSE BLANK CHARACTER SPACES ARE FOR DEREK AND CO.!**

**Or crack patients, one of the two :)**

**(Extra disclaimer - i tried to keep everything as real as i could in here, but didn't feel like doing a lot of research because i would've never have written the chapter.. so, don't be like, "that couldn't happen!" because i will unleash my posse on you. And yes, i just used the word posse..) **

* * *

Derek, Angie, and the other attendants in the room surveyed the damage. It was a medium sized dagger embedded in the woman's flesh, the black handle sporting a very unique design.

"I don't think I've ever seen something this intricate in my life…" Derek started, lowering his top half down to inspect the design more closely.

"It looks to me like a dagger for some form of martial arts, doctor." Angie replied, watching as Derek looked up at her. "We see people come into our Aikido class all the time for demonstrations and such, and the handle to this one looks like some of the ones I've seen before."

"Okay guys – " Cybil interjected, collecting her supplies. "She's out – work your magic Stiles." She said, chuckling before moving herself to the far corner of the room next to a monitor. Before she had been sedated, the paramedics had done the best job they could in stabilizing her while she was in shock, but now she was fast asleep, the anesthetic Cybil had injected was taking hold quite nicely.

After a deep breath, Derek looked at Angie who was extending the scalpel he had asked for towards him, her eyebrows raised waiting for him to accept it. The both of them still sort of lost in their office romance excursion, they were all smiles and looking at each other, even in the presence of a woman who was millimeters away from death.

"Okay – from what I can see here…" Derek started, moving around as to get a panoramic view of the entry wound. "It looks from the curve in the handle that the edge is facing inward, but because we don't know the curvature, it's hard to say what it's in contact with…"

Angie studied it as well, placing the scalpel just underneath the handle and pulling up the smallest bit, to see the width of the blade.

"Because of the position of the dagger and the size of it's entrance wound, I would most likely say that the knife has a slight curve to it, though it looks like the width of the blade stays uniform." Angie said gently, still examining. "We should probably lengthen the cut laterally so we can pull the blade away from the artery and figure out its curvature then."

Derek nodded, taking the scalpel from Angie. He drained the excess blood around the area before smearing antibiotic gel all around the wound, placing his scalpel gently at the far corner of the incision. With a gentle saw-like motion, Derek lengthened the laceration, mindful to only cut the top few layers and not to accidentally nick anything underneath.

"Derek!" Cybil shouted from the corner where she was monitoring the patient, causing him to nearly stab the woman in surprise. "She's having a reaction to the anesthesia, you need to do something, FAST!"

Derek shot his gaze over to Cybil who was stone-faced, looking quickly back and forth between him and her monitors.

"What do you mean she's—"

"She's reacting very badly – these readings are through the roof, and her body is going to start reacting soon.."

Derek quickly shot his chocolate eyes back to the incision site, of which he was still carefully lengthening to be able to get the knife out. When he finished, he dropped the scalpel on Angie's tray and braced one hand on the table and the other on the handle of the dagger, before nearly shouting at his nurse who was just inches away from him.

"You're running out of time, Stiles!" Cybil warned, fumbling furiously with her monitor as it beeped out of control.

"I'm going to pull this back, and try to slide it out – just keep pressure on the opening, okay?!" he said, locking eyes with her, to which she nodded. Holding a giant handful of gauze, Angie placed the pads at the site of the incision as Derek wrapped his other hand around the blade, pulling back and towards himself. He watched as Angie's green eyes widened even further behind her surgical goggles as a screaming pitch fired through the room, causing an instant panic.

"V-Fib!" Angie yelped, running and grabbing the defibrillator.

Still tightly held down by a head brace and bondings down at her feet, the woman laid motionless on the table, completely unaware of the state of peril she was in.

"NO – ANGIE!" Derek yelled just as Angie began to charge the paddles. "She convulses from that shock and the knife slits the artery. We've got to get it out _NOW!_ Put pressure on the wound, let's GO!" he barked, Angie jumping straight at his orders.

Quickly Derek activated his Healing Touch, casting a thick hue all about the room as people still rushed around to try to remedy the situation, though much more slowly. Both hands on the knife, Derek turned immediately to the monitor, where he could see that it wouldn't be much longer until her heart completely gave out – they needed to shock her, but couldn't risk it with the knife still inside.

One hand abandoning the handle of the dagger, Derek drove his fingers into the woman's abdomen just next to the sharp side of the blade, the other hand holding it still, as he searched for the bottom of the knife so that he could pull back not only from the top, but from the bottom for even leverage.

He had mere minutes left before the V-fib would turn into asystole, and then it would be all over. As his fingers maneuvered through muscle, tissues, organs, fat, and blood to reach the bottom of the knife, he spotted the abdominal aorta, with the tip of the blade resting against it, a slight nick on its wall.

"Man, they weren't kidding.." Derek muttered to himself as he continued on.

Sweat ran down his forehead under the hot light and his brain throbbed, a sign that his Healing Touch was going to wear out soon. All he had to do was get to the bottom of the knife and pull it away from the artery before something devastating happ--.

And before Derek could finish that thought, the Healing Touch expired; half because of his exhaustion, and half because of his complete surprise. With his fingers just grazing their destination, Derek watched in absolute shock as the woman's abdomen spiked upward, vomit propelling from her mouth. To his horror, he had watched as the convulsion pressed the aorta up against the blade of the knife, slicing it in half before he could even think to react.

"DAMN IT – DRAIN, NOW!" he screamed at Angie, who practically threw the drain at him, watching the monitors panicked.

Meanwhile, Cybil had abandoned her station and rushed over to the woman's head, where she had released her from her restraint and turned her head to the side, trying as best as she could to prevent choking as the monitors screeched out of control, signaling that her heart was still in major trouble.

"VITALS ARE PLUMMETING!" Angie shrieked, watching as they crashed from 60 to 35 in a matter of seconds.

"Dammit, don't do this.. Don't DO THIS! You hear me?! You're NOT going to die – NOT LIKE THIS!" he snarled as in one motion, he pulled the dagger back and out, pitching it over his shoulder and to the floor. Somewhere deep inside, Derek knew it was all over, but continued to fight until he heard Angie's voice, soft and shaky.

"Asystole."

Derek's heart sank like a weight as he shot his gaze to the monitor, wishing that it was still screeching instead of boating that monotonous tone that chilled him from the inside out.

"No, there's got to be something I can do – the knife's out! Shock her!"

"Derek…" Angie said quietly, tears in her eyes as she stared at him. Everyone in the OR remained motionless, watching Derek as his and Angie's eyes did silent battle with one another, before hers won, forcing him to drop his tools. He took off his head covering, shaking his messy brown hair loose before casting a quick glance up to Sidney who too was quiet on the observation deck, a look of sympathy on his face. Though they all knew they were powerless against the preceding chain of events, it still cut through every one of them like the bloody knife that now laid still on the ground.

Derek pulled down his mask until it hung loosely around his neck, all occupants of the room still watching him. He looked at Angie who was crying out of sympathy for the woman, but more-so for him, before he cast his glance over to the clock.

One by one he ripped off bloody gloves and threw them forcefully on the ground, dropping his hands to his sides, clenching them into fists.

"Time of death… 20:51" he muttered.

Silence filled the room for only a brief second before it was broken again.

"Son… of a FUCKING BITCH!!"

In a completely un-Derek like move, he screamed the above statement before one of his balled up hands cut underneath the cool steel of his surgical tray, pitching it off of the stand and onto the floor, causing everyone in the room to jump back, and Angie to cry harder, heart full of anguish for her doctor in his most sorrowful moment. Without looking at anyone, Derek paced briskly towards the door, hands still balled into fists, before he punched the light wood in front of him, sending the swinging door flying into the wall behind it with a loud bang.

Standing in silence for a few moments, the remaining staff of the OR began to clean up the mess, all of them out of words to say. Angie turned her head up to Sidney, who motioned silently towards the door, suggesting she go after Derek. After cleaning up a few things, Angie walked slowly out of the doors of the OR and cut the corner into the prep room, where Derek had already peeled off his coverings and was scrubbing viciously at his hands and arms, his back to her.

He shut off the water and rested his hands on either side of the sink, hanging his head.

"If I would've worked faster… if, I would've been paying more attention and the Healing Touch hadn't've run out… maybe, she'd still be alive."

Angie's eyes widened as she paced slowly into the room, removing her gloves before fiddling with her fingers.

"How did you know I was here? I didn't make any noise, and I'm not wearing heels today…"

He spun around to look at her, a look of failure plastered on his face, robbing it of its usual happy-go-lucky style.

"Had a feeling…" he said, slightly smirking.

"Derek, this wasn't your fault…" she said. "What happened in there.. was, the most unlikely chain of events I've ever seen… that I think could ever happen."

He looked her in the eyes, nodding slightly as she continued to talk, pacing towards him.

"I mean, what are the chances you have a knife pushing against an artery, the patient reacts to anesthesia, goes into V-fib, and her convulsions from vomiting cause the knife to sever the artery.. we would've had to have been doing six things simultaneously!" she said, chortling out of sheer amazement, which he returned.

"I guess you're right, Angie.. It still.."

"Sucks? I know Derek – but, don't let it get you down too much. You did everything right, and stopped me from making a huge mistake in the process."

Now Angie was right in front of him, staring up and into his eyes, which warmly returned her gaze, though still pained.

He forced a smile. "Thank you, Angie.. you always know how to cheer me up. But, I don't think this will be going away for awhile.."

"I don't expect it to, Derek.." she said, looking at the ground. "Just – you can, uh.. talk to me, if.. you know, you need to…"

Derek watched and couldn't help but smile as Angie stammered and blushed right in front of him, her eyes still on the floor as she nervously shifted under her own weight.

"I appreciate it Angie… thank you for your support."

She looked up at him again and smiled, their gaze unusually intense.

"_Oh no Angie…he's devastated right now – now's not the time to be doing something like this… it's not professional!"_

Against the wishes of her mind, Angie felt herself rise up on to her tiptoes, putting herself face-level with Derek, who seeing what was happening, began to blush uncontrollably, gripping the sink so that his legs wouldn't give out from under him.

"_Is this seriously happening? No way.. it can't be.." _Derek thought to himself.

She could feel his warm breath on her face, his hair gently tickling her forehead as she grew closer and closer to him. She wrapped her right arm first around his neck and then her left, still staring him in the eyes as she quivered under the feel of his strong hands slowly grasping onto her hips, pulling her up and closer into him. The two of them traded a small smile before their eyes gently closed, their lips closing in on each other. After years of working together, Derek and Angie had always secretly wondered what it would be like to kiss each other, and were finally going to find out.

…until…

"Stiles, you in here?"

The hands that were holding onto Angie's hips firmly pressed her down and away as she quickly unhooked her arms from his neck. Sidney stepped into the room just in time to see the surgical duo standing next to each other, avoiding eye contact with him and each other, both of them as red as tomatoes, looking slightly frustrated. Sidney laughed out loud as he looked at them, before speaking.

"Stiles, you need to go inform her husband.." he said solemnly, before beginning to chuckle. "Oh, and the prep room isn't a very romantic place – why do you think that you two have a couch in your office? Sure as hell isn't there for feng-shui…" he said, winking before he began to chuckle again and walked out.

Derek sighed. The moment was ruined. Hopefully, he would get to recreate one later on…

Angie looked at him bashfully, playing with her hands again.

"Um… I guess, you should.. uh.."

"Yeah.." he interjected, rubbing the back of his head. Angie smiled at him and began to walk towards the door, before he stopped her.

"Wait, Angie.."

"_Thank GOD.."_ she thought as she turned around, eyes fixated on Derek's smile.

"I know it's late – but, do you want to get something to eat after this? I could really use some comfort food and a date.. uh, I mean.. I-I uh, really could.. use someone, um, to talk to, right now…"

Angie smiled, nodding. "Right, Derek… and yes, I'd love to. I'll meet you back at the office."

And with that she turned and walked out of the room, leaving Derek to finish the job. Delivering bad news was always the part that killed him. Though Dr. Kasal had always told him not to, Derek couldn't help but get attached to the people he treated, caring about their wellbeing as much as he would care for those he loved.

--------------------------

As soon as Derek walked into the waiting area, the woman's husband rushed right in front of him.

"Doctor Stiles.. my Katherine… is she, alright?"

Derek sighed, motioning for the man to sit down next to him, trying to hide his pain as he explained.

"The dagger was lodged right next to the abdominal aorta. It turned out that she was allergic to anesthetic, and it caused her to go into ventricle fibrillation and convulse."

"She… she was, allergic? I had no i-idea.. I mean. she's never had surgery in her life!" he exclaimed, beginning to tear up. "Oh, Katherine…"

Derek clenched his teeth, trying not to start tearing up as well. "I know – there was nothing that any of us could've done to prevent that – she needed to be put under."

The man nodded. "So, what – she had an allergic reaction, how long will it take her to rebound from that?" he asked, a hopeful gleam in his eyes.

Derek was finding it harder and harder to press on with the conversation without letting onto her fate before he could explain himself.

"Mr. Corrigan, when she began to convulse and vomit, the movement was just enough to jerk the knife in the wrong direction."

Derek watched as the gleam in Jack's eyes disappeared, replaced by a look of terror.

"…Doctor, what do you mean the 'wrong direction'?"

"It severed the artery, and the damage was irreparable… I'm so sorry, but there was nothing we could do.."

Derek watched as Jack's eyes shot around the room, searching it for something, anything, to make the situation better. "No, please… please, Doctor.. you can't.. y-you can't be serious! No! I Won't LET YOU!"

He dropped to the ground onto his knees as he sobbed, rocking himself back and forth, whispering her name as he struggled to try to breathe. Gently, Derek knelt down next to him, surprised when Jack pulled him towards him by his scrubs, crying into them. Unknowing of what he should do, Derek just gently wrapped an arm around the crushed man's shoulders, trying to calm him as best he could before he was knocked flat on his butt.

Standing above him was Jack, tears streaming down his face but a look of unimaginable fury in his eyes.

"YOU! You SAID you would SAVE HER, and you _DIDN'T_!" he choked out, slowly starting to lose it as he paced around in circles.

Derek shakily rose to his feet and tried stepping to the man, who shoved a firm hand into Derek's chest to keep him away.

"No! Don't come near me! You.. you call yourself, a.. a doctor?! You killed my WIFE you FUCKING BASTARD!!!"

Now causing everyone in the immediate area to take notice Derek became embarrassed, but knew that he was not going to get Jack to calm down – not at a time like this. However, he was worried because his breathing was becoming more rapid, his face turning an unhealthy shade of crimson. After the outburst, Derek had every intention of walking away, but couldn't bring himself to leave the man that needed someone so badly.

He watched as Jack gripped onto his shiny bald head and held onto it tightly, walking back and forth and trying to breathe.

Lifting the microphone up to his mouth, Derek pressed the button on his radio. "This is Stiles on the first room OR waiting room – I need for someone to stand by with an oxygen tank and a gurney, stat."

"Mr. Corrigan, you need to stay with me here… breathe slowly.." Derek said, pacing towards him again bravely, but was shoved back once more.

"No… no… don't.. come near me, you…you.."

Derek's mouth dropped open as Jack's eyes rolled back into his head, the six-foot two-inch, 185 pound man falling forward into Derek's arms. He barely caught him and quickly lowered him onto the ground on his back, just as Angie came racing around the corner with another floor nurse, the gurney and oxygen tank in hand. Both nurses stood in shock as Derek checked the man's vitals knelt down on the floor, before he turned to the two of them.

"I need the tank, now!" he barked, sending the nurse flying over to assist him while Angie radioed for backup.

As the other floor doctors ran into the room to help Derek, he gave them the stats before they loaded Jack onto the gurney and wheeled him away, leaving Derek and Angie alone together.

Sinking back into the plush waiting room chair, Derek rested his elbows on his knees and held his head in his hands, breathing in and out slowly, trying not to lose it. He calmed slightly when he felt Angie take a seat next to him and rub his back gently. Within minutes, his urge to cry had faded into exhaustion as she continued softly rubbing, knowing exactly how to put him at ease. Gently he released his head from his hands and cocked his head to the side to look at her, her bright green eyes shining with worry and sympathy. He smiled just barely at her, before closing his eyes.

"…Thanks Angie – that's just what I needed right now…"

"Any time…"

There was a short silence between the two.

"…if you want, we can do dinner another night.. I know it's been a rough day.." Angie spoke, barely audible.

Slowly, Derek sat up and heaved a big sigh, before turning to her.

"I think after all that's happened today, I need to spend time with someone who makes me happy…"

Angie blushed, and then smiled.

"I don't know where we're possibly going to have dinner though – it's pretty late now.." he said, checking the wall clock.

They both pondered for a moment, before Angie rose to her feet, smiling as she held out her hand. Derek looked at her confused, staring at her hand and then her, but refusing to go with her until she explained her plans.

She rolled her eyes and sighed, smiling still. "How about this.. you go home and get into some sweats, I'll stop by the store on the way home, and I'll make you your favorite – steak and mashed redskin potatoes. You can come over, we'll relax in scrubby clothes, eat, talk, and watch a movie. Sound good?" she said, extending her hand again.

Derek smiled, placing his hand into hers as he stood up, lacing his fingers with hers much to her surprise.

"Sounds absolutely perfect. Thank God for that day off tomorrow, huh?" he chuckled.

A blush formed on both of their faces, as the two walked hand and hand back up to their office to grab their belongings, completely unaware that their troubles were just beginning.

* * *

**Dear God, I am so behind on this friggin story. Oh well, at least I'm not scrapping it! Sorry for the delay, I'm kind of more preoccupied with updating FCL... so, I will see everyone over there soon! Please review! **


	4. Visitor

**Hellooo!**

**I promised I would return soon, and looks like I kept my promise!**

**This chapter is dedicated to MoonCat - I was sorry to hear about the loss in another review you posted, so I wanted to send my condolences your way... hope everything gets better very soon..!**

**And so progresses "Hostage"**

**Enjoy! **

* * *

When Derek woke up in the morning, he found himself with very limited space. Lying perfectly straight with his arms tucked tightly into his chest, he quickly found that he was getting closer and closer to the edge of the bed as the night went on. For some reason, he hadn't rolled over to the middle of the bed, and only figured out why when he blinked his eyes open, doing a mental double-take.

The reason he hadn't slid into the middle of the bed, was because Angie was curled up next to him, her arm and leg slung over him as she breathed slowly in and out, still asleep.

Derek stared at her with his eyes wide open, trying to figure out why he was waking up next to her, until his position on the bed got the better of him.

_WHACK--  
THUD--_

"Unnngh... _dammit_…"

In his surprise, Derek had managed to fall off the side of Angie's bed, and hit his head on her nightstand on the way down. He remained face down, holding his forehead as he continued to groan, upset when he heard Angie sit up – the last thing he wanted to do was wake her.

"D…Derek?" she asked groggily, her bed-headed hair spilling over the side of the bed as the rested her chin on the edge of the mattress, looking down at him from above, one of her green eyes still closed from the sunlight. "Are you… mmm... Derek, what.. happened?"

He rolled onto his back, still holding his forehead as he looked up at her, an embarrassed but pained look on his face.

"Uh, I, kinda, fell off the bed.." he stammered out, looking up at her from the floor.

She opened her other eye and smiled at him briefly, before she snapped to attention.

"Oh, noo… Derek..!" she exclaimed, groggily climbing out of bed and positioning herself on the floor next to him.

Derek felt his face turn bright red as she removed his hand from his face, and examined the site of impact with her nightstand. Her face just inches away from his, he was looking directly in her eyes, but she was still examining the damage.

"Does it hurt when I do.."

"…OWW.. Angie…!"

"…Sorry.."

Scratching the top of her head briefly as she sat back on her legs, Angie moved into a crouching position, where she placed a hand around the back of Derek's neck, and very gently pulled him into a sitting position. Once he was upright, Angie remained planted in front of him, all her weight on the balls of her feet, eyes studying his forehead still.

"I feel dizzy…" he said, chuckling slightly.

"I'm not surprised – looks like round one goes to my nightstand, eh?" she asked, giggling at him.

Suddenly, Angie felt a sneeze coming on..

"aaaCHOO!" she squeaked, the force of the sneeze knocking her off her balance and her top half crashing into Derek, who caught her in his arms, immediately turning a bright shade of red. Slowly, she picked her head up to look at him, desperately trying to hide her embarrassment. He was so warm, and it felt so comforting to be in his arms… and Angie couldn't help but think to herself how badly she wanted to stay there…

"Uh… B-bless you…" Derek stammered out, to which she half smiled, before nearly jumping to her feet.

"Thank you, Dr. Sti—Derek! I mean, Derek… I'm sorry, let's uh.. go get some ice, for your head…" she said, extending a hand.

Derek laughed inwardly as he saw her blush and stammer, but he took her hand, and rose to his feet, following her into her kitchen.

As he exited the bedroom, still holding his head, he noticed rental boxes and candy wrappers scattered everywhere, from their movie marathon the night before. Walking into the kitchen, he could see the remnants of the giant steak and mashed potato dinner Angie had whipped up, the only evidence left were two empty plates with the slightest bit of crumbs on them, sitting in the sink. Still dressed in her hot pink sweatpants and grey fitted t-shirt, Derek watched from behind her as she reached into her freezer, pulling out a bag of frozen peas.

"Sit." she instructed, pointing to the chair at the near end of her table.

Derek did as he was told, smirking slightly. The smile faded as she gently pressed the freezing bag on his rapidly growing bump, his face fighting a wince back.

"Sorry…" she said, biting her lip sympathetically at him. "But you've got to keep it on, its already swelling…"

"Yeah, I can feel it…" he mumbled, watching her out of his left eye, the right one covered by a bag of peas.

Angie looked at him and giggled, which deepened his scowl, before she turned to her refrigerator, opening it, and then closing it.

"Well…" she started, sitting in the chair next to him. "Since you were assaulted by my nightstand, it's only right that I take you out for breakfast…"

Derek chuckled, shifting the bag on his head. "That's okay – I'm not really hungry… I never really was a breakfast person…"

Angie's gaze turned contemplative as she looked at him.

"Okay, I have to ask – how did you manage, to fall out of bed?" she giggled, eyes wide and shining.

Derek stopped, his cheeks turning pink.

"Well, I uh, woke up this morning, and you were, uh… right, there, and I didn't really remember even falling asleep last night, so, I um.. got surprised, and then, woop! On the floor!" he chuckled, stammering out his explanation as she laughed at him.

"Yeah…" she admitted, twirling her hair around her index finger. "Ever since I can remember, I've been a cuddly sleeper…"

He felt more relaxed now, as he shifted the peas on his head. "Yeah, I noticed that when I woke up with half of you slung over me…"

Now it was Angie's turn to blush.

"Well…" she started, a mischievous smirk on her face as she leaned in towards him just a little closer, lulling her voice to a whisper. "…Next time, if you want to avoid waking up on the floor, you'll just have to give into my sleep cuddles…"

After such a downright sexy comment like that, Derek could have sworn that his face was cooking those peas, it was that hot, leaving Angie to giggle at him as she walked over into her bedroom, rustling his hair gently on her way.

Calming himself just a bit, Derek set down the peas and walked over into the bathroom, closing the door and examining the now frozen bump on his forehead, sighing. Pulling out a small thing of facewash from a basket on the the counter, he turned on the water and began to gently clean his skin. Suddenly, he heard his cell ring on Angie's nightstand.

"Derek!" she called. "Your phone's ringing!!"

He paused.

"Will you pick it up, please?" he yelled, his face now full of soap.

Angie walked over to the nightstand and picked up the small black phone, the caller ID flashing "Tyler Chase" across it.

"Oh, great…" she mumbled, flipping it open.

"Hello?"

Silence.

"_Uh... Angie, is that you?"_

Angie sighed. "Yes, Tyler… it's me. What's going on?"

"_Why do you have Derek's phone?"_

In a fairly dumb move, Angie paused, unsure of what to say, leaving Tyler to put it all together.

"_Oh.. OHH, hahaha! OH, man.. that's.. good for you guys!"_

Angie snarled, gripping the phone in her hands.

From the bathroom down the hall, Derek laughed as he heard Angie lose her temper.

"Tyler CHASE, I_highly_ suggest that you shut your mouth before I come over there and do it FOR YOU…" she bit.

"_Okay! Okay! I'm sorry! But, you need to come up here anyway – Chief told me to call you and tell you guys that there's an impromptu meeting scheduled in an hour – you can go back to whatever you were doing after that, but you need to be here at 10."_

Derek walked in the room, to see a very fed-up Angie pacing back and forth through her room. He leaned in the door frame and watched her, arms crossed.

"You listen here, Chase… I meant what I said before! Grow up – nothing happened!"

Derek smirked as Angie listened to Tyler talk on the other end. Suddenly, her pacing stopped.

"NO! You may NOT talk to him, because I know exactly what you're going to say!"

From the doorway, Derek could hear Tyler cackling on the other end.

"Goodbye, Dr. Chase…" Angie muttered.

"_Wait, Angie!! I'm so--"_

Click.

Angie whirled around and nearly jumped into the air to find Derek in the doorway. Her anger still present, she forced a smile as she held his phone up in the air, before tossing it on her bed.

"Do, _NOT_, call him…" she said, slightly laughing as she shook her head.

Angie sat on the edge of her bed, and Derek followed, the two basking in a moment of silence.

"We have to go to work for an 'impromptu' meeting…" she said softly, to which Derek grumbled.

He laid down on his back and reached over to the nightstand which had given him a nice morning greeting, grabbing his glasses and sliding them onto his face. He sat back up, as Angie turned her head towards him, her blonde hair falling over her shoulders and just lightly grazing his arm.

"I guess this means, you have to go home and get changed…?" she asked, a twinge of sadness in her voice.

"Tch… no way.." Derek replied, chuckling. "Impromptu meeting means, I wear sweats and there's nothing Sidney can do about it…"

Angie giggled. "Well, I guess I'll join you then…"

"You, in public… in sweatpants?" he joked, earning an elbow in the arm.

Angie rose to her feet and walked into her closet, pulling on a zip-up hoodie on and pushing up the sleeves to her elbows, as she swept her hair back and into a cute, bouncy ponytail.

"Let me throw on some make-up, and we'll stop for coffee on the way…" she said, walking into the bathroom.

"Sounds like, a great idea…" he said, flopping back onto her bed.

"Stay in the middle this time!" she giggled, peeking her head out of her bathroom just in time to hear Derek say "Gah!" as he rolled into the middle.

-------------------

"Man – we're lucky we got coffee, or else I wouldn't have made it through that…" Derek said, walking down the hallway next to Angie.

"Yeah, Chase is lucky that Sidney was there, or else I would've hopped across the table and given him something to laugh about…" Angie muttered, thinking of all the snickers and winks that Tyler had sent their way over the course of the meeting.

Angie turned left down the hall, and Derek turned right, ready to go out to his car, which he had used to carpool them both to the meeting.

He stopped, noticing she was gone. Quickly, he caught up with her.

"Where are you going?" he asked, as he sipped his coffee.

"Just to our office real quick – I left my thermos in there and I don't want it to get moldy.."

Derek pulled his keys from his pocket and unlocked the door, pushing it open for her. Angie quickly walked over to her desk and opened the bottom drawer, lifting the silver thermos out, before she sat down at her computer momentarily and checked her email. In less than five minutes, she was done.

Clicking off her monitor, she stood up.

"Okay, I'm ready!" she chirped, to which Derek smiled, turning off the light.

"Are you hungry yet?" Angie asked, to which Derek chuckled softly.

"Actually, yes... is that an invite, or are you just trying to make me remember how bad I need to eat?"

Angie giggled back at him, walking towards her doctor who stood facing her still. She paced towards him slowly, a playful glint in her eyes

"Well.. I was thinking, if you didn't have anything else to do on our day off... that maybe..." she said, hand now on his chest, tracing the letters of his college T-shirt.

While Derek was always a respectable and slightly nervous man when it came to women, he had a hard time not outright mauling Angie when she was being this sexy.

Derek gulped as she paused, still touching his shirt, her body so close he could feel the warmth of her radiating on him.

"...Y...Yeah?" he asked softly, his voice quivering.

"Ahem..."

Derek and Angie's eyes popped open as they looked at each other and then turned to the side. Tyler appeared in front of them, arms crossed with a big mischievous smile on his face.

"Well, just the two I was looking for…" he said, walking in their office and sitting down in Derek's chair.

Derek sighed, flipping back on the light. "What do you want – we're just leaving…"

"Oh, don't worry, this won't take long…" he said, resting his hands behind his head. "I just wanted to know, what's been going on with you two lately?" he asked, to which both Derek and Angie turned red, exchanging a quick glance.

"I swear, I _will_ kill you Tyler…" Angie threatened, but she was cut off as another occupant entered the room.

"Tyler!" Leslie hissed, walking inside. "I told you, to leave them alone!"

"Oh, come on Les – quit being a party pooper and help me get the details out of these two…"

Leslie's brown eyes had a glint of remorse in them, but it quickly disappeared.

"So, what I hear from Tyler, is that Angie answered your phone this morning, Derek… is that true?"

Derek moved over to the couch where Angie was now seated, plopping down next to her.

"Might as well get comfortable…" he muttered, to which she scoffed.

"Come on!" Tyler said. "You guys are cornered now… we know there's something going on between you, so give it up!"

"Nothing, is going on!" Angie snapped, watching out of the corner of her eye as Derek's face flashed a bit of disappointment. Noting this, she continued. "And even if there was, what makes you think we'd tell_you_, of all people…"

"Yeah, everyone knows they'd tell ME first…"

Angie smacked her forehead as Cybil walked into the room, joining the conversation as she sat down in Angie's chair, smirking.

"Spill the beans, Stiles – the jig is up!" she said, to which Derek's face got even hotter, now a pretty shade of purple.

"Will you guys get out of here! This is my day off, I want to GO, HOME!"

"…or back to Angie's place…" Victor interjected, appearing in the doorway as Derek groaned.

"Okay, seriously. I hate, all of you." he stated bluntly, laughing slightly out of embarrassment as Angie made threatening motions towards Tyler for starting the situation.

Meanwhile, just outside, the nurses from the department were sent running in panic as a man walked down the hallway, closing in on the rag-fest happening in Derek and Angie's office.

"There's no use for resisting this now… we get it, you're both embarrassed. So, just tell us what's going on and we'll leave you alone!" Cybil added, to which Leslie and Tyler nodded.

"Oh, Hey..!" Victor interjected, rolling his eyes. "I just remembered – I don't care about this…!"

The occupants of the room laughed at him as he turned around and began to walk, immediately slamming into a very tall bald man, who probably could've eaten him in one sitting. Victor backed up a few steps and into the office, seating himself on the armrest right next to Angie.

Ignoring his brush with the bony researcher, the man scanned the room, settling his eyes on Derek and Angie, whose eyes widened with surprise.

"Mr… Corrigan?" Derek asked softly, the shock of seeing the man keeping him in his seat.

"Doctor, Stiles, is it?" he asked, in a manner which made Derek shift uneasily.

All the employees in the room were now quiet. Leslie moved towards Tyler behind Derek's desk, as the man took one step in, and began to speak.

"Doctor Stiles… tch, tch, tch…" he started, a vindictive tone in his voice before he shot his glare over to Angie. Instinctively, Derek grabbed her by the waist and pulled her closer to him.

"And this…" he said, noticing Derek's action. "Must be your wonderful assistant nurse… As I look at her, I realize why you couldn't save Katherine – you were too busy looking at this _slut_…"

Derek hugged Angie tighter as everyone in the room's mouths dropped open, the surgeon's brown eyes on fire behind his glasses, his jaw clenched as he seethed through his teeth.

"You bastard – don't you _dare, _talk about her like that…"

The man chuckled, thoroughly amused by Derek's attempts to shut him up.

"Only calling them as I see them, _doctor.._"

Tyler stood from the chair, motioning for Leslie to sit in it, resting his back against the wall.

"I believe I should be using the bastard comment right back at you, Doctor…" he continued, taking another step into the office, to which everyone in the room backed up just a bit.

"You ruined, everything…" he sneered bluntly. "I loved that woman, and thanks to you and your stupid fucking nurse here… she's gone..!"

"I told you to shut the HELL up!" Derek roared, as Angie wrapped her arm around his waist, staring up at the man with utter contempt, her frame slightly shaking. Feeling her tremble, Derek pulled her in closer to him, gripping her tightly.

"With all due respect, Mr. Corrigan…" Angie started, her voice stern but cracking just a bit.

"Was I talking to you, _bitch_?" he growled, to which Derek snapped.

"That's IT…!" he exclaimed, rising to his feet as Tyler moved away from the wall, the two surgeons cautiously walking towards the lunatic. "Get the hell out!" Derek hissed, his hands curling into fists.

Angie watched shaking from the couch as Derek and Tyler stood just mere feet from the man, closing in slowly.

"Okay – if you want to play that way, I can trump you both.." Corrigan sneered, reaching into his pocket.

Angie, Leslie, Victor, and Cybil all shot back into their seats, eyes wide with horror as the man raised a small, black pistol out of his left jacket pocket and settled the barrel on Derek's forehead. His dark brown eyes glazed over with complete panic as he stood motionless in front of the man, his previous interjections silenced by the unexpected move. A stale silence flooded the room as the man and Derek stood, deadlocked.

He cleared his throat gently. "Now that I have your attention, Doctor Stiles…" he started, smirking evilly. "…we need to have a little chat…"

* * *

**Ooh - now it gets INTERESTING!**

**So anyway - yes, things are beginning to pick up... looks like Derek and Angie won't be able to spend the rest of their day off doing something fun with each other... :( At least I gave them a little time together there at the beginning! (squeals at the DerekAngie cuteness)**

**See you next chapter (and in FCL!) Review please! **


	5. Situation

**I hope that this works - for some reason, this thing has been defying my wishes to bold my damn AN. Meh, I shrug at this.**

**So, I know I depressed the hell out of everyone (and myself... geez) with the last story, and I wish I could provide a happy update, but I cannot. Everyone is still alive though... does that count?**

**Anyway, on with the story! Enjoy!**

* * *

Tyler held up his hands and quickly backed up into the corner at the sight of the gun, before covering his mouth with them, unable to move as he watched the man press the barrel firmly into his friend's head.

"The next move is yours, Doctor.. either you shut the fuck up and let me talk…" he started, pulling the barrel off of his head and pointing it over his shoulder, straight at Angie. "Or, your little girlfriend here eats lead."

Derek looked over his shoulder at Angie who cowered in the corner of the couch, tears flowing freely down her face as she shook.

Taking a deep breath, Derek stepped in the trajectory of the gun slowly as Angie watched in disbelief at how far he was willing to go to protect her.

"I'm listening."

Corrigan smiled and laughed just a little bit in a purely evil fashion, leaving Derek with the foul odor of his breath as it wafted through the air, just inches from the petrified surgeon's face. Much to Derek's dismay, the man stepped closer to him until their noses were nearly touching, lowering the gun and firmly pressing it into his gut, insuring that he didn't dare try to move.

"You're going to pay, for what you've done…" he growled, shoving the barrel forcefully into Derek's stomach.

He winced, but tried to hide it.

"…but first, there's something I have to take care of…"

Pointing the gun at Angie as he backed out of the room, Corrigan stopped just outside the door to Derek and Angie's office and looked at the wall to the right, reaching forward where he pulled on the fire alarm.

With that move, those still in the building who were unaware of the situation evacuated, and all of the fire-proof doors closed themselves and locked, ensuring that the six hostages and their attacker were now trapped inside the eastern wing of the second floor of Caduceus USA. He leaned in the door and pulled it shut, leaving the six inside confused, as he went to check the fire doors that were at either side of the hallway.

Derek quickly moved from his position in front of the door back to the couch, where Angie fell into his chest sobbing.

"Where is he going?" Cybil asked, her hands trembling as she bit her nails nervously.

"Probably to go check the doors… I highly doubt that he would point a gun at everyone and then just leave.." Victor snarled under his breath.

Leslie was still curled in Tyler's lap, now crying, but couldn't help cracking a smile as she looked over to see Derek cradling Angie in his arms as she cried.

"You're going to be okay, Angie…" was all he could utter to her in a whisper, terrified himself.

"W-What if he comes back, Derek?" she sobbed. "What if, he really wants to kill us!?"

Tyler held Leslie closer at Angie's words, wondering the answer to her question himself.

Derek bit his lip, not knowing what to say.

"I won't let anything happen to you… I promise.." he whispered in her ear, leaving everyone else in the room to wonder what he said to her.

Their grasp was broken as Corrigan walked back in the room, his smile disappearing as he looked at Derek, sitting with his nurse.

"I'm going to make it very clear right now…" he started, walking over to Derek whom he pulled off of the couch by the front of his shirt, as Angie began to cry again, trying her best to hold it in.

"…That refusing to follow my directions will get you killed."

Tyler's heart skipped at the words, as suddenly the man was staring at him and Leslie, huddled together in Derek's office chair.

"That goes for all of you…" he said, scanning over his hostages one by one. "Do I make myself clear?"

They all stayed silent, Cybil barely nodding her head.

"I SAID do I MAKE myself CLEAR?!" he yelled, to which they all jumped.

Derek, Angie, Cybil, Victor, Tyler and Leslie all muttered a shaky 'Yes', shaking their heads up and down to which Corrigan smiled his slimy smile that made them all sick to their stomachs.

"Stand up, all of you…" he said, to which everyone but Derek rose to their feet, the surgeon still slumped against the wall.

The six quickly scrambled to their feet as they awaited further instructions. Pleased with how fast they had snapped at his order, Corrigan smiled, backing out of the room, still glaring at the six who stood nervously, looking at him.

"Now, follow me. One by one."

Derek looked back at Cybil, who nodded reassuringly as he walked out the door, closely followed by the Iron Vixen, Victor, Angie, Leslie, and finally Tyler.

-------------------

Sidney Kasal had walked out of Caduceus five minutes prior to the six being dragged out of the office. Breathing in the fresh, spring air, he walked to his car, briefcase in hand as he prepared to go home for the day. In his pocket, his cell phone rang, pulling it out to see his brother Greg's name on the caller ID.

"This is Kasal."

"_Sidney, I know you have caller ID, and I know you're a Kasal, stop telling me every time I call."_

Sidney chuckled. "What's going on Greg?"

"_Nothing, I just called to see if we were still on for golf this afternoon?"_

"We sure are, I'm walking to the car right now, do you--…"

Sidney trailed off as the fire alarm inside the building began to go off, turning around ans staring at the building quizzically.

"_Are you going to finish your sentence, or are you trying to hang me in suspense here?"_

"Greg, the fire alarm is going off in Caduceus."

Greg sighed on the other line. _"What do you mean the fire alarm is going off?"_

"Would I say the fire alarm is going off if it wasn't going off, Greg?" he snapped, leaving the elder twin to chuckle at him. "I have to go see what's going on…"

"_Ah, so, I'm guessing I should just cancel our tee-time?" _

"No…" Sidney replied, looking up the height of the building. "I don't think its anything serious, I mean, I was just in there…"

No sooner did the words come out of Sidney's mouth than he whirled around to see fire trucks and police cars whip into the service drive of the hospital, stopping right in front of Sidney who was still standing just in front of the doors, looking at the barrage of vehicles that now surrounded the building. His hazel eyes widened behind his glasses as he saw bomb squad trucks pull in shortly after, still standing silently as Greg checked his signal, thinking that Sidney had hung up.

A man in uniform walked briskly up to Sidney, a grave look on his face.

"Sir, you're going to need to evacuate the area, we've got a situation here."

"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what this _situation_ is you speak of… I'm the director here, and I want to know what's going on!"

Greg was still on the other line and began to get nervous as he listened to Sidney bicker with someone he did not know.

"You may be the director, but I'm the chief of police, and I say you need to evacuate immediately…"

"That's all fine and grand, but apparently you don't know what I'm capable of.." Sidney bit, stepping closer to the officer. "Tell me, what is going on in my hospital."

"_Sidney, how many times do I have to tell you not to fight with the police!"_

Greg's voice could be faintly heard through Sidney's speaker, which now hung at his side.

"We have people still inside that building, sir! Now before we have to use force, you'll nee---"

"Well go get them out! What is everyone doing just standing here – if there's a fire, go GET them!" Sidney's voice had now become a forceful yell, but the officer remained calm.

"Sir, there is no fire… we got a call a short time ago from an employee on the second floor who said there was a man with a gun inside, and had cornered a few of your other employees into an office. We have reason to believe that he may do them harm, so naturally, this is a hostage situation."

Sidney's angry expression dropped to shock. "Did they say who it was?" he asked.

"We'll need you to go just on the other side of this car, where they'll be able to tell you everything…" he started, pointing to a police car where a few officers were standing behind it. "Since you're the director, we're going to need your help in containing the situation."

Sidney nodded, stone faced as he looked back and forth slowly. "Yes… yes, of course" he said, walking past the chief and to the other policemen standing behind the car. Before he reached his destination, Sidney brought the phone back up to his ear, mouth still slightly open in surprise.

"Greg…" he muttered.

"_I'll reschedule our tee time, and be there in ten minutes."_

Reading his mind, Sidney clicked the phone shut, before opening it again and dialing. It rang twice before a voice answered on the other line.

"_Hello?"_

"I hate to bug you on your day off, but you need to get here right away – we have a situation."

"_What do you mean situation, what's going on?"_

"The police are here, and have reason to believe that Caduceus is experiencing a hostage situation…"

There was silence on the other end for a second, as the news was taken in.

"_I'll be there in five minutes."_

"Thank you, Robert."

Sidney clicked the phone shut once again as he shook hands with the policemen, completely unprepared for the news he was about to hear.

* * *

**For some unknown reason, my favorite part about this is when Sidney and Greg are bickering back and forth... though I do love the DA fluff ::sigh::**

**Yeah, I got this to be bold after it wouldn't do it for me, so I went into the "source" heading and put in my own HTML tag... TAKE THAT JERKS! PWND!! **

**See you next time! Review please!**


	6. Shock

**I tried really hard to make this chapter interesting. I don't really have much else to say, just that I hope that I did a good job at doing that.**

4:30 a.m. is a REALLY horrible time to GET HOME FROM WORK.

Chapter, now, before I pass out! Enjoy!

James Blunt and his related songs (c) James Blunt

* * *

Sidney gulped as he stood in front of the officers, their expressions grave. 

"Do you know who is inside?" he asked, to which the male and female officer exchanged glances.

"Mr…?"

"Kasal… Sidney."

"Mr. Kasal, after speaking with a few of your other employees…" the female started, looking at her notepad. "…It seems as though employees by the name of Stiles, Thompson, Chase, Sears, Myers, and Niguel are still unaccounted for."

"WHAT?!" he roared, surprising the officers. "There's SIX of them in there? What are you waiting for – get IN there!"

"Mr. Kasal, you'll need to calm down or we'll have you removed…" the male officer spoke, his gold badge shining, black lettering spelling out the name "Brooks".

Hands on his hips, Sidney allowed himself to calm for a moment, watching as Greg walked up towards the hospital. Officer Brooks walked to the side to stop him from coming through, leaving the elder Kasal to look over the officer's shoulder at Sidney.

"Let him through…" he said, stepping to where Greg and the officer were talking. "He's directly involved with one of the hostages."

As Greg was allowed past the yellow tape his eyes widened, locked with Sidney's. Growing closer to him, Sidney could see the look of fear in Greg's expression.

"It's Cybil… isn't it?" he asked softly, to which Sidney nodded.

"And Derek, Angie, Tyler, Leslie, and Victor…" he added, to which Greg flipped out as well.

"Do you know anything else about the situation?" Sidney asked Officer Brooks, the man turning around to face him.

"We're told that one of the nurses recognized him as a man whose wife had surgery and died the other day… something about a stab wound…?"

"Corrigan…!" Sidney blurted out.

"Is that the man's name?"

"Yes, his name was Jack Corrigan – his wife Katherine died during surgery for a stab wound yesterday…"

"So we have the guy and the motive…" he said, scribbling in his pad before he walked over to the patrol car, Sidney and Greg following close behind. The officer pulled out a phone and dialed a number from his pad, as the Kasals stood nearby, watching.

-------------------

Angie, Derek, Leslie, Tyler, Cybil, and Victor were lined up just outside of Derek and Angie's office in that exact order, seated on the floor, backs against the wall. Gun still in his hand, Corrigan paced back and forth wordlessly, nothing coming from any of the hostages as well. Suddenly he stopped in front of Angie, making her visibly begin to shake.

"You…" he said, pointing the gun at her.

She looked at Derek, and then back at the man who still had the pistol pointed at her.

"Get up." he snarled, to which Angie quickly rose to her feet.

"We need to lighten the mood…" he joked, his putrid smile turning Angie's stomach into knots.

He thought for a second, before turning back to her.

"We need some music. You got any?"

She nodded. "I have my iPod and speakers in the office…"

He grabbed her arm and walked her over to the office, all but throwing her inside. Standing with his gun at his side just outside of the door, he kept a watchful eye on her as she turned on music, looking back periodically at the other five.

"Oh great…" Derek grumbled, to which Tyler looked over at him.

"What?" he whispered, careful not to let Corrigan see them talking.

He walked into the office and yanked Angie out as soon as the music began to play, pushing her back down next to Derek, who was still talking to Tyler.

"The only thing worse than being a hostage is having to listen to Angie's music while being a hostage…" Derek joked quietly, to which Tyler laughed and Angie scoffed.

"Hey!" she shrieked quietly, Corrigan crossing his arms as he listened to their conversation.

"What's that song… that, awful, awful song…" Derek pondered aloud, smiling faintly as Angie smacked him.

"Uggh… it's called "Goodbye, My Lover" and it's an EXCELLENT song… you just have bad taste.." she grumbled, crossing her arms in a huff.

Quietly, Derek began to make fun of James Blunt's voice, leaving Tyler to start cracking up at his dead-on impression, while Angie sat seething.

"OKAY…" Corrigan snapped, the laughs and smiles fading instantly upon hearing his voice. "Talk time is over…"

He was cut off as the phone at the station just five feet away began to ring.

-------------------

"It's ringing…" Office Brooks said to his Chief, Sidney and Greg standing a short distance away.

"Ah, Mr. Corrigan… this is Officer Brooks with the ABPD. I was wondering if we could talk…"

"_He's handling this too nicely… he needs to put the fear of God in that man!"_ Sidney thought, pausing for a moment before he began to walk towards the officers. Greg placed a hand on Sidney's shoulder to stop him, but all the twin did was shrug it off and keep walking. Before they knew what had happened, Sidney had ripped the cell phone from the officer's hands and walked away quickly, yelling into the receiver.

"Listen UP – I have no problem lighting the whole damn building on fire if you don't quit being a slimy bastard and let those people go!" he yelled, before the phone was torn from his grasps.

"Mr. KASAL..!" the female officer, Green, yelled at him as she dragged him away from the patrol car. Twirling him around to face her, Sidney's gaze was sharp and forceful as she held his arm tightly, face just inches from his.

"The man upstairs with your employees has a **gun**. Do you understand that? A gun. That means, stupid stunts like you just pulled could make him snap, and then the only way you'll see those six again will be when they're carried out in body bags. Do you understand why it is important that you let US handle this?"

Sidney nodded, biting his lip to keep from yelling back – being powerless against a situation was something that he was never good with.

"Good." she said, releasing his arm. "Now, if we have to tell you again, you will be removed from this situation completely…"

"Sidney!" a voice behind him came sharp and deep, causing him to whirl around.

Dr. Robert Hoffman walked towards him with a hardened expression on his face.

"What's going on..?" he asked, to which Sidney heaved a giant sigh.

Still on the phone with the captor, Officer Brooks began to yell orders just as a gunshot resounded through the air.

-------------------

"Oh yeah? And I'm just supposed to walk out of here right now and let everyone be safe so that you can put me away for life? Call me crazy, but I don't see that as being a good idea…"

The six watched stone-faced as their captor hammered it out with the police downstairs. Suddenly he was silent as a voice was heard yelling on the other line, his expression turning to that of complete contempt.

"Well…" he continued when the officer had finally wriggled the phone away from Sidney. "Let's make it interesting, shall we?"

Something about that made Tyler nervous as he pulled Leslie closer to him, his entire body beginning to shake.

His bald head shining against the fluorescent lights, Corrigan walked until he was standing directly in front of Victor, whose slightly trembling form was resting against the wall just below the only window in the hall. He smiled and waved to the police and crew watching him outside, before he pulled the gun out and pointed it at Victor's head.

A collective gasp was heard through the other five as they all huddled together, watching in horror as Victor stared down the barrel of the black pistol.

"If I'm such a slimy bastard, then these people wouldn't still be alive…" he snarled into the receiver.

"…But tell whoever that "negotiator" was… thanks for the first casualty…"

Nobody was quick enough to react as they watched his long finger pull back on the trigger of the gun that was pointed directly at Victor Niguel. Angie fell into Derek's arms sobbing as Leslie did the same to Tyler, his other arm around Cybil as she shielded her face from the sight. Silence rang through the hallway before Corrigan began to speak once more.

"When you're ready to make an actual attempt at a negotiation… you be sure to give me a call…"

A small chime was heard as he slammed the phone back into the receiver. Still clutching at Tyler's arm, Cybil could hear faint, shaky breaths coming from Victor just next to her. She could hear him trying to hold back tears as his body shook, most likely in his last few minutes of life. Putting aside her own fears about seeing someone she cared about die in front of her eyes, Cybil lifted her head and turned towards Victor, determined to be there for him when he needed someone the most.

-------------------

"WE HAVE A SHOT!" Officer Green yelled, Brooks still on the phone with Corrigan inside. Quickly, the chief had come running over to the two of them, Sidney and Robert following before another officer escorted them away from the conversation. They watched nervously from a few feet away as they conversed, before the chief stepped over to Sidney.

"He wasn't exactly happy with your outburst, I'm sure you could say…" he started, expression grim.

Robert turned to Sidney confused, but his hazel eyes remained locked with the officers.

"We saw him standing in front of the window, where he has apparently lined up the six hostages… his gun was pointed downward, and before we could even react to what he was saying, he aimed and fired a shot…"

Sidney covered his eyes with his left hand as breaths began to get stuck in his throat, the weight of possibly causing the death of a close friend something he couldn't bear. All Robert could do was place a hand on Sidney's shoulder and shake his head back and forth, praying silently that it wasn't what they thought.

After the officer retreated, Sidney pulled away from Robert and walked over to Greg. Robert watched with a heavy heart as Sidney began to panic over his mistake, leaving Greg to wrap him up in a tight hug.

An unidentified man walked towards Sidney as Greg consoled him. Placing a hand gently on Sidney's shoulder, the younger Kasal turned around, face to face with someone he never expected to see.

-------------------

As Cybil slowly pulled away from Tyler to comfort the fallen researcher, she centered her gaze towards his feet and worked her way up slowly. Tears falling from her dark eyes, a hand shakily wiped them away as she prepared herself to look at him, his uneven, gasping breaths still billowing through the air. She could hear Angie and Leslie still sobbing softly as Derek and Tyler held them, neither of them willing to look at the damage.

Her eyes finally reached the gunshot wound, gasping as a hand flew over her mouth. Victor was shaking like crazy, his dark brown eyes as wide open as they could possibly go. Cybil reached for his hand and grabbed it tightly, examining the bullet hole Corrigan left in the drywall – just two inches to the left of Victor's head.

"Oh my God, Victor…!" Cybil whispered gently, hugging him as she cried.

Too shaky to do anything, Victor just sat there and let Cybil hold him as he realized how lucky he was in that moment.

Hearing what sounded like relief, Derek looked up and over as Angie's head remained buried in his chest. He gently shook her as he saw the bullet hole in the wall instead of Victor, grabbing Leslie's attention soon after. The six breathed a sigh of relief as they tried to calm themselves down – but to no avail. Suddenly, the calm was broken.

"You can't just… jerk people around like this!" Derek muttered, his voice slightly raising as he spoke more and more.

"Oh yeah?!" Corrigan laughed, amused by the attempt to reach him. "…and why not? Someone I loved died because of you – that's a hurt you will never know."

"You think I don't know what its like to lose someone I love?!" Derek snapped as Angie tried to shush him. He paid her no mind as he glared up at the bald man, his expression still of pure amusement.

"You listen to me, you little shit…" he rebounded, crossing his arms. "It hurts that she's gone, for more than one reason. I loved her so much… but she was in love with someone else the whole time – do you know what _that's_ like, doctor?"

Derek's eyes widened slightly at the unexpected turn.

"N-No…" he started shakily. "I don't. But I know that torturing us isn't going to bring her back.."

"Derek!" Angie whispered quietly, trying to get him to stop.

"No, it's okay, Nurse…" he sneered. "I want to hear what he has to say.."

There was silence as Derek tried to decide if speaking his mind would be a good idea.

"Jack… I know that losing someone is painful, but we tried… why don't you go shoot the person who stabbed her?!" he exclaimed.

Corrigan smiled. "Doctor Stiles, I really think that suicide will get me nowhere, at this point…"

The six let out a collective surprised gasp.

"You… you mean… you, stabbed her?" Angie asked, shakily.

"Don't judge me, you stupid bitch…" he said, voice turning back to anger. "You don't know the situation I was in…"

"Situation? Jack, what situation could ever make you think that stabbing someone you love is a good idea?!" Derek yelped, to which Angie nodded in agreement.

"I TOLD her! Time, and time again that it bothered me when she was with him! She KNEW that, and she PROMISED ME SHE WOULD LEAVE HIM!"

Everyone recoiled slightly as Corrigan began to yell, haphazardly waving the pistol around to try to emphasize his point.

"I LOVED her, and all she could talk about was the man she loved, and her kids, and this and that and blah blah blah… she said that she wanted to be with me, but she never meant it! NEVER!"

Silence fell again over the hall as he paced back and forth nervously.

"She would talk to you about how she loved another man?" Angie asked quietly, failing to solicit a response from the man as he continued walking back and forth.

"So, did you stab her so that she would get scared into not being with the other man anymore?" Derek asked, to which Corrigan shook his head no.

"If your wife was doing that, why didn't you just divorce her!? You didn't have to stab her…"

"You idiots…" he muttered, stopping in his tracks. "She's not my wife!"

The six exchanged confused glances.

"But Jack, you said she was when you came in here just yesterday…!" Derek exclaimed, getting a confused glance from the man in return.

"Oh, you really haven't figured it out yet, have you…" he asked, chuckling slightly, Derek shaking his head back and forth. "I can tell, because you keep calling me by my brother's name…"

Derek froze, unsure of what he meant.

"You would think that with all your "medical expertise", you would be able to know twins when you see them, Doctor Stiles…"

* * *

**So, hopefully some (or all) of you, found this chapter interesting. I hope nobody else saw that coming, because I have to admit, I'll be slightly disappointed. **

Ooh, so, now what does this mean!? It means that people start fighting for their lives next chapter! WEE!

I'm going to bed forever. Starting, now.

Review please!


	7. Escalation

**Okay, it's official. I want to kick this story in its behind.**

It took me SO. LONG. to be able to update this - ask ITB, I almost scrapped it like, 14 times... ha.

Anyway, so, onward we go...! Hopefully this isn't too crappy of an update. The beginning is kind of boring, I'll warn you now.

Everyone except the officers, Erik, and Jack (c) Atlus.

* * *

Sidney Kasal whirled around when a hand was placed on his back, trying to stop himself from crying.

"Oh shit…" he said, coming face to face with Jack Corrigan, whom he thought was the madman inside.

"Jack…?" he asked softly, as Greg put all the pieces together, still standing behind Sidney.

The bald man looked around at the scene, before settling his eyes on Sidney once again.

"Heh… I turned on the TV today, and I was quite interested to know that I was apparently holding several hostages – it was a nice thing to get out of the shower to hear…"

Sidney couldn't help but chuckle just a bit, his eyes still wide open. He escorted the man forward, stopping him in front of Officer Green.

"Officer…" he said, motioning towards the man.

"Mr. Kasal, you know this is a closed perimeter – you may not bring pe—"

"Officer Green, I'd like you to meet Jack Corrigan…" Sidney said, cutting her off.

The officer's eyes widened as she called over the chief quickly, leaving them to converse with the man. Sidney's attention drifted in and out of the conversation as he silently began to remember what his actions had done, hoping silently that everyone was still alright.

When the conversation drew to a close, Officer Brooks picked up the phone hesitantly once more, hoping that enough time between the present and when the shot was fired had passed. He dialed, listening to it ring on the other end.

"Chief!" cried a member of the swat team who was looking at the scene with a pair of binoculars. Sidney watched as the man handed the binoculars over to the chief, the both of them quietly conversing about whatever they saw, before they turned back to Sidney.

"Do any of the six we mentioned have any sort of experience in the criminal field?" the chief asked Sidney, his expression turning confused.

"Yes – I think so… GREG?!"

Greg came rushing to Sidney's side, curious as to why he was being summoned.

"Cybil used to be on the police force, right?" he asked, Greg turning to the officers, slightly worried as to where this was going.

"Yeah, she quit med school to pursue law enforcement in Chicago… she was on the force for years before she came back to medicine… why?"

The Kasals looked at the chief, who just smirked.

"We're not confirming this, but from what we just saw, it looks like everyone is okay at the moment…"

----------

"…Twins?" Derek asked, completely shocked. "That means you're…"

"Jack's brother, Erik. It's a _pleasure_, to meet you all…"

Nobody was really sure what to say as silence wafted through the air, Erik's dark eyes scanning every one of them.

"Everything would have been fine, if you would've saved her. She thought when I entered the room, and even up as she was bleeding to death… that the person stabbing her was her lowlife husband. It was perfect – and once she got better, she would've run to me just like she promised me all those years… But, YOU…" he snapped, pointing to Derek with his free hand.

"…You ruined everything…"

"Sorry to burst your bubble here, but I'm pretty sure _you_ ruined everything when you stabbed her!" Leslie shot, everyone turning towards her surprised at the outburst.

Erik Corrigan smiled that slimy smile that made every one of them cringe from the inside out as he walked towards Leslie. She shrank back against the wall and Tyler placed a protective arm across her torso, glaring at him with contempt.

"You know…" Erik said, throwing Tyler's arm aside as he stroked Leslie's face with the back of his hand. He watched her visibly squirm as he continued to touch her, lowering his hand off of her face and down her neck slowly. Tracing his hand down further, he forcefully grabbed onto her left breast, squeezing it firmly as she let out a painful cry.

"…one more little outburst from you, you pretty little thing… and everyone here, including your little _boyfriend..._ will watch you get **raped**…"

Acting on pure instinct, Tyler shot his foot out, kicking Erik firmly in the gut. He immediately released his hold on Leslie, and she began to cry, leaning into Tyler's arm. He pulled her in tight to his body, still glowering.

"TYLER!" Derek yelled, trying to calm his friend down as the bastard just laughed off the surgeon's "attack".

"You do NOT talk to her like that you son of a bitch!" Tyler snarled, becoming more upset when all Erik did was laugh.

"I'd be careful,_Tyler_…" he said in a menacing tone as he flashed his gun. "Remember who has the gun… you're lucky I still have my patience with all of these outbursts, because you all would be dead right now. So before I lose my patience, I suggest you all just sit there and just shut the fuck up."

Derek turned his head to the side and looked at Angie, who was staring up at Erik, her brave expression hiding the pure terror that he could see in her eyes. He wanted to comfort her somehow, but in his own state of uncertainty, wasn't sure that he even could.

Cybil on the other hand, watching the drama unfold, remembered something vital from her days on the force. Watching Corrigan eye all of them, she waited until he turned his back to make her move… but before she could, the sound of a ringing phone startled her back into her place. He eyed the six once more, and then walked over to the phone and lifted it from the cradle. With his back turned to them, Cybil shakily raised her arms up over her head, her hands now in front of the window. The remaining five watched as she made several hand motions, silently hoping that the people outside were smart enough to be watching with binoculars.

"What are you doing?" Victor asked quietly, careful not to draw unwanted attention.

"Back on the force, I remember them saying that if you can make some sort of gesture to let the cops outside know the status of the people inside, that it'll be much easier for them to take action, because they know what's going on…" she said, holding up six fingers to signify the six of them. "…I just have to hope that they are seeing this…"

After holding up six fingers, she flipped her wrists upside down and pointed, showing that all of them were seated underneath the window – and shortly after, gave two thumbs up to signify everyone was still okay. She repeated the gestures several times before she yanked her hands down, watching Erik turn towards them again.

----------

"She's flashing a number '6', two thumbs up, and pointing downward… we could read that as "There's six of us in here, we're right under the window, and there are no injuries…"" Green said, watching out of the corner of her eye as Sidney heaved a giant sigh of relief.

"Okay Director Kasal… we're going to take just a slight risk here, but since someone in there obviously knows what they're doing, we hope that she'll be able to figure out our plan…"

Sidney nodded, slightly weary of the situation. "Okay, how can I help?"

"We need a floor plan of the hospital… we're sending someone in…"

"WHAT?!" Sidney yelled. "You can't do that – one wrong move and he's going to kill everyone in there… I won't stand for this…"

"Enough, Director…" the chief snapped, cutting him off. "We're not sending anyone in to try to break up the situation… we're sending in a member of the SWAT team for something just a little different…"

"I'm listening…" Sidney said, hands on his hips.

----------

"See, what you _cops_ don't understand is that there is nothing you are going to negotiate with me… the only thing I want is the blood of this doctor on my hands. For him to spend his last minutes in agony, just as my wife did…"

There was a short pause before Corrigan stormed over to the window right in front of Cybil, looking out and down below.

"You're lying –_I'm_ Jack, whoever you have downstairs is an imposter! I can't even see him, you bunch of fucks…!"

As Erik started to get more and more irate, Cybil realized that either they had to get out or calm him down, because his rage could leave him to do some terrible things.

Stepping away from the window and walking towards Derek and Angie's office, Erik turned his back to all of them, still bickering with police on the other line. Racking her brain for a possible countermeasure, Cybil's train of thought was broken as she heard a small click from the door about ten feet away from them. Her eyes widened, trying to decipher whether or not it was someone unlocking it from the other side, or if the noise was just a figment of her imagination.

"I have to go check the door…" she whispered as quiet as ever, Erik still with his back to them.

"What? Cybil, are you nuts?! You'll get yourself killed!" Tyler snapped, looking at the charcoal-haired woman as her eyes showed signs of determination.

"Listen to me – we can't all just sit around like this… I'm the one that's had training here, remember? And I just heard that door click, which leads me to believe they sent someone up to unlock it. So, I'm just going to check. If it's open, we may have a shot at a real escape. If not, at least I can say I tried…"

"No, you can't… Cybil, you're staying here…" Victor whispered to her, slight annoyance in his voice.

"Both of you just be quiet, and listen to me. Tyler, do you have your cell on you…?"

"Yeah…" he said shakily, pointing to where it lay behind his back.

"Think all those hours of messaging your sweetheart will come in handy, and you can send a message to Sidney?"

He gulped. "Sure – what do you want it to say…?"

"Send him a message telling him to mute his phone and give it to the police…" she said, looking over at Erik. "After you send the message, wait a few seconds and then call him…"

"Oh, so they can listen and know what's going on…?" he asked.

"Exactly." she replied quietly.

They paused as Erik whirled around again, still fighting with police on the line. He turned around again, just as Leslie, Derek, and Angie tried to hear what was going on.

"Sit back…" Cybil instructed them. "Tyler will fill you in after I'm done talking…"

The three sat back and looked around nonchalantly as Cybil continued.

Her dark brown eyes scanned the area, finally finding something she was looking for.

"Okay, it's going to be just a bit risky… but you need to get your phone into that vent…"

Just across from the six, maybe three feet away, there was a covered vent on the floor, with a top that would lift off.

"Those vents are shallow, but the tops lift off… if you can get your phone into there, it'll be able to pick up just enough noise – not to mention the fact that they have equipment to magnify the sound like you wouldn't believe…"

Tyler's fingers worked away at his Blackberry, finishing his message to Sidney. He sent it, and then sat still, biding his time.

"Now, Victor…" Cybil said, looking at the dark-haired man.

"Now you're dragging me into this?" he whined, looking at her to which she slapped him in the arm.

"Yes, Victor, sorry for trying to save our _lives_…" she snapped, giving him the evil glare.

Victor sighed. "Okay, what…"

"If something happens to any of us, you have to signal out the window what has happened, and how many are still left. If I get shot…" she said.

"Cybil, don't talk like that…" Victor interrupted, looking slightly disturbed by the comment.

"Hey, it could happen…" she said, unfazed by it. "Anyway, if something were to happen to me, you're going to hold up five fingers, and then try to make a shooting motion, or just… something, to let them know what's up…"

Victor swallowed hard. "O-Okay…"

Tyler and Cybil saw their chance as Erik began to yell again, storming into Derek and Angie's office as he searched the people below for his so-called "brother" that was ruining his plan.

Quickly, Tyler dialed Sidney and moved over to the vent, plopping the phone inside of it as he skidded back towards the wall. Breathing a sigh of relief, Leslie hugged him as they looked over at Cybil, who, walking hunched over, was just inches from the door.

"Please be open, please be…"

A chorus of blood curdling screams rang through the small hallway as Cybil crumpled to the floor, holding her side as she screamed repeatedly.

Derek, Angie, Tyler, Leslie, and Victor turned towards Erik, who without their knowing, had walked back out into the doorway. He promptly hung up the phone in his hand, glaring at Cybil's now motionless body, and then back at the five.

"Trying for a DARING ESCAPE, huh?!" he screamed, gripping the gun in his hand as he pointed it at them, who were all huddled together now. "You guys just won't FUCKING LEARN!!"

The gun discharged again.

----------

"Chief!" Sidney yelled, staring at his Blackberry. "I got a message from inside…!"

Within a split second, Sidney was surrounded by three officers and the chief, all of them questioning him.

"It says, "Mute your phone, give to police"…" he read slowly, lingering before he handed it off to the chief.

Just mere seconds later, it began to ring, flashing the name "Tyler Chase" on the screen. The chief answered it, placing it immediately on mute, as he had been instructed. Holding it to his ear, he waited a few minutes, before running it over to the SWAT team's van. Minutes later he ran back to where everyone was waiting.

"They managed to hide the phone somewhere, so it's giving us a complete blow-by-blow of what's happening inside… the teams is hooking it up to their equipment as we speak – that will magnify the sound, and we'll be able to hear what's going on."

"We'll need you and Dr. Hoffman to come with us, and help us identify any voices we may hear…" Officer Green said.

Before they could even hook the phone up to the equipment, another gunshot rang through the air.

"Oh, God…" Sidney said, immediately covering his face with his hands as he closed his eyes, praying silently as the crowd of people that had gathered outside began to panic.

"Fuck!" Officer Brooks yelled, hanging up the phone. "We have another shot, and there is a LOT of screaming – we think he got someone…"

Robert and Sidney looked at each other stone faced, as the police looked up at the window through their binoculars. Very faintly, everyone down below saw a white, pasty hand raise up, signaling a number.

"How many fingers are they holding up?!" Sidney asked, rushing over to where the officer was looking through his binoculars. He pulled away from the binoculars, looking at Sidney.

"They're signaling, a number "five"…"

Everyone outside watched as the hand was quickly pulled down, just as another gunshot was fired.

Sidney's heart dropped straight into his stomach.

* * *

**Mwa-ha-ha... so there were TWO shots...!**

...Who got the second?

You'll see...

...next time! :D


	8. Hopeless

**OMG, an update? From TCGeek? NO WAY!**

**I'm guessing cause of school and junk that you all have been as busy (if not more so) than I have been, and that's why this place has been pretty stagnant lately.**

**I am updating this, and then I have to finish up a request from someone over on DeviantArt, and then I will update FCL, and then another request from DA, and then a request from someone here, and then I'll write another chapter for Tales From Caduceus for MoonCat.**

**So anyway, I'll stop blabbering on here. This is not too long, but I hope you guys still enjoy it anyway!**

* * *

"They're signaling, a number "five"…"

Everyone outside watched as the hand was quickly pulled down, just as another gunshot was fired.

Sidney's heart dropped straight into his stomach.

"We can't just… stand, _around_ anymore!"

Sidney turned around, slightly surprised at Robert's outburst – rarely did he ever hear him yell.

"Yes, we understand that, but now he seems very angry about something – before, we were talking him down, but now we're back at square one." Office Brooks said in a murmur, looking down at the ground.

"Brooks!"

Sidney and Robert whirled around to see the chief pull Officer Brooks aside and converse with him.

"Why do I have a feeling that I'm not going to like what's coming…" Sidney said quietly.

"I was just thinking the same thing…" Robert replied, gently raking a hand through his beard.

"That is an ORDER, Brooks…" the chief suddenly yelled, leaving Sidney and Robert startled. The two officers split from one another, and Brooks came walking over to the men slowly, his expression grave. Once he was standing in front of them, he paused momentarily, looking down at the ground, and then back up.

"In just a few moments, gentlemen… the SWAT team is going to start preparing…"

"Preparing?" Robert interjected. "Preparing for what…?"

Office Brooks sighed outwardly, looking somewhat upset by the situation.

"Their sharpshooter is going to come out and set up and… and we're going to take him out…"

Robert and Sidney stood slightly shocked, expressions stone. Neither of them was quite sure what to say.

"We don't know who has been harmed, if there have been any casualties… and before he hung up the phone, he was screaming about an escape…"

Sidney's heart wrenched again. _Cybil…_

"…so we have reason to believe that everyone inside is in danger. There have been two shots in the last minute. While things seem to have settled down, we can't take any more chances…"

Robert nodded, looking at Sidney. They exchanged a glance, as Sidney turned back to the Officer.

"You have our full support. Please, do anything you can to save them…"

Brooks nodded, walking back to the chief and the SWAT team.

Suddenly there was a panic over by the SWAT van, Sidney and Robert just a short distance away.

"What's going on, why are they moving like that, why are they –"

Sidney was promptly cut off as another gunshot came from inside.

"ANOTHER ONE?!" he yelled, burying his face in his hands. This couldn't be happening – not to them… those six were medicine's brightest… they were the hope for the future – they were so young, so full of life…

Sidney's eyes began to burn as the grief he was feeling sparked tears into his eyes. Turning over his shoulder, he saw Dr. Hoffman with his head hung, eyes closed.

Timidly, Sidney stepped to him. Though he hated to disturb someone in prayer, Sidney placed his arm on Robert's, leaving the elder surgeon to look up at him with sorrow in his eyes.

While Sidney wasn't a particularly religious man, he knew that if anyone could help the six right now…

"Robert… will you… will you pray, with me?"

Forcing a small smirk, Dr. Hoffman nodded gently, and both men bowed their heads in prayer.

----------

"Trying for a DARING ESCAPE, huh?!" he screamed, gripping the gun in his hand as he pointed it at them, who were all huddled together now. "You guys just won't FUCKING LEARN!!"

Angie buried her face into Derek's shoulder and squeezed her eyes shut. He huddled against her, both of them shaking like mad.

The gun discharged again.

Derek's stomach churned, having heard a high pitched scream not too far away from him. And when he worked up the nerve to pick his head up, he noticed Leslie bleeding from her left arm.

"Leslie!"

Tyler was now in a state of panic, he eyes glazed over with unfallen tears as Leslie dropped into his lap. Angie lifted her head off of Derek's shoulder and looked over at her best friend, a hand flying up over her mouth when she saw what happened.

She was holding the wound, blood seeping through her fingers as Tyler just looked at her helplessly. Her pained sobs intermittently flooded the air, but she was doing her best to try to calm them, her breathing shaky and uneven.

Victor's eyes were still on Cybil, noting that she had not moved in quite some time.

"We need to help them…" Victor mumbled, turning his gaze up towards Erik.

"What did you say?" he sneered, stepping over to the researcher to get a better listen.

"I said we need to help them!" Victor said, now practically yelling back at him.

"Victor, don't…" Angie warned.

"No, Angie – we can't just sit here and let them both bleed to death! Cybil hasn't even moved since she got shot! She may already be…"

Victor trailed off as he looked back at the other four, watching them look over at Cybil gravely, tears in their eyes.

A bitter silence seeped through the hallway as Erik stood in front of them all, saying and doing nothing. He suddenly turned his attention to Tyler, who looked at him with pure hatred.

"Get them out of here."

Derek, Angie, Tyler, Leslie, and Victor all looked up at him disbelievingly.

"What…?" Victor asked, his voice shaking just a bit.

"You heard me." he repeated, now looking slightly agitated. "I didn't want anything to do with any of you guys anyway… You – " he said, pointing to Tyler. "Carry her out…" he said, pointing now over at the motionless Cybil. "And you…" he said, pointing to Victor. "Help her out of here."

Tyler and Victor both nodded solemnly, moving to stand.

"Wait…" Erik said, a smirk creeping onto his face.

Everyone froze, waiting for his next move.

"Before you go, there's something I want you to see…"

As the last of his words poured out into the silence, he raised the gun and aimed directly for Angie's head.

"But before I do… say goodbye. This includes you, Stiles…"

Everyone just stared at Angie as tears rolled down her face, biting her lower lip as she trembled. She felt Derek's hand grip her own, unsure of what to say or do. This couldn't be happening to them – this couldn't be the last time he was going to see her. He still needed to tell her that he lo--.

As the shot was fired, Derek just squeezed Angie's hand and dropped his head back against the wall, feeling tears immediately pour down his face. He sat there with a hand over his eyes for quite some time, trying to gain enough strength to pick his head up and look at her, but found he couldn't do it – until…

"Derek…"

It came out as barely a whisper, but it was just enough that Derek heard it loud and clear. He reluctantly opened his eyes and wiped them quickly, turning his head towards Angie, who looked back at him. His eyes widened as he saw her, unharmed, and the bullet hole in the drywall right next to her head. Derek pulled her quickly into his arms, breathing a sigh of relief as he held her shaking form. She gripped onto him tightly as she cried, suddenly listening to Erik begin to laugh again.

"This is just, so much fun, watching you guys all panic like that…" he laughed, leaving the rest of them to glower up at him.

"Take one last look at your friends…" he said to Derek and Angie as Tyler and Victor worked in helping their wounded coworkers off the floor. "This will probably be the last time you see them alive…"

Tyler, Victor, and Leslie sent a miserable glare Derek and Angie's way.

"We love you guys, so much…" Tyler said, to which Leslie and Victor nodded. "Everything will be alright… we'll get you out…"

"HA!" Erik laughed. "That's rich… Now get the fuck out of here."

Scooping up Cybil in his arms, Tyler sent one last look back at the two before he began to walk towards the door, Victor following with his arm around Leslie, helping her walk. The door closed behind the four of them, and suddenly Derek and Angie were all alone, cuddled up together on the floor.

"_I hope they do something soon..._" Derek thought to himself as he held Angie tightly, still listening to her cry.

----------

Having finished their prayer, Sidney and Robert stood together silently, waiting to see what came of those three shots. Officer Brooks next to them, they watched as the sharpshooter began to prepare. Everyone on the force was doing something, some quickly scurrying around, others standing and talking. Sidney looked down at the ground, hoping for some good news, when…

"Oh shit…"

Sidney snapped his head up – he had _never_ heard Robert swear before, but as he saw what he was talking about, he felt himself thinking the same thing.

Before Sidney could even register what happened, Robert was already in a full sprint towards the front doors of Caduceus. Once he let the sight register, Sidney followed, screaming to the chief to get an ambulance ready.

Tyler had walked out with Cybil's unconscious form draped across his arms, a massive amount of blood coming from her back, closer to her side. Victor was holding up a very weak Leslie, who was still clutching at her arm, blood seeping down it, all over her hands, and her uniform.

Robert and Sidney could speak no words as they sat down with the four on the concrete, assessing their injuries.

"Are you guys okay?" Robert asked, his violet eyes staring at Tyler and Victor.

"We're fine – Cybil's in pretty bad shape… she's got a pulse but its weakening by the second…"

"Did someone call for medical help?"

"Greg…" Sidney said, standing up quickly as he turned around, not knowing that he was going to be the one to help.

"Oh, God…"

A hand went up immediately over Greg's mouth as he stared down at Cybil. He gently sank to his knees next to her, gently stroking her face as he fought hard to bite back any emotion.

"Move your hand for just a second and let me see, Leslie…" Dr. Hoffman said, the nurse immediately following orders. She winced as he examined the area, but he quickly finished, helping her up and over to the waiting ambulance.

Tyler bent down and scooped up Cybil, looking at Greg sadly as he carried her over to where they were taking Leslie. Greg followed right on his heels, and Sidney knelt down next to a very shaken Victor.

"What's going on in there…?" he asked, watching as Victor ran a hand through his dark locks.

"First of all, I want to know which one of these fuckers was the one that yelled at the guy and almost got me killed…"

Sidney gulped. "You were the first shot?"

Victor's eyes narrowed. "It was you?"

Sidney bit his lip, and then nodded. "I'm so sorry, I didn't think…"

"It was an inch from my fuckin head, Sidney. You better believe I get a raise and more time in the lab for that…"

Sidney cracked a smile. "Done. Now let's go get you someplace safe."

Sidney helped Victor to his feet, noticing how unstable the researcher was while standing.

"Wait, Sidney…" he started just as Officer Brooks and the chief approached the two.

Victor looked between the three men, his expression grave.

"You've seriously got about two minutes to do something, or else Derek and Angie are going to be dead."

Sidney exchanged a glance with the officers as he turned around, noting that the sharpshooter was still setting up.

"Our sharpshooter looks as though he's about halfway through with his set-up, so as soon as he's done, we'll have everything taken care of…" the chief said, looking at Victor who just stood there, expression unchanging.

"You need to hurry… they… don't have, much time left…" Victor mumbled, looking back up at the building, and then walking off to go sit with Tyler and Dr. Hoffman. Leslie and Cybil had been taken away in the ambulance, Greg now with them.

Sidney looked up at Caduceus as well, his stomach now in knots.

"_Just a little bit longer you two... hang on, I know you can do it."_

* * *

**Omg, next chapter is the last chapter before we get to go back to the beginning, and everyone finds out what has happened! FUNFUNFUN!**

**So, thanks for reading - it's getting exciting now, eh?**

**Please review! **


	9. Sacrifice

**Here it is - the moment you've all been waiting for.**

**Well, kind of - I'm sure everyone wants to find out what happens to everyone after the fact, but this is also an important chapter. And it's LONG, that much I will warn you. Final word count before author's notes? 7,115 words.**

**This chapter is packed full of suspense and nail-biting fun. It was a LOT of work for me to put this together (and 20 pages in Word... Yikes!) So, I really hope you enjoy it.**

**So, here it is - the final chapter before you find out what happens to our favorite cast. Need I remind you that after this, you go back to the beginning and read that chapter, and then the new one, whenever I shall post it :D**

**Enjoyy! **

* * *

There is strength in numbers. 

For you see, six on one could overpower with a collected effort.

Two on one however, would require a lot more thought and a hell of a lot of luck.

And thinking away on the floor outside his office was Derek Stiles, knowing that a fight was imminent.

The fluorescent lightning shone dully on the top of Erik Corrigan's bald head, catching Angie's attention as the man who had turned their lives upside down stood quietly, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

Derek just stared at the floor, trying to think of every possible countermeasure for the situation, as the police were doing nothing to help. Time was running out, that much he knew – and the only thoughts that raced through his mind were about how he was going to save Angie… and hopefully after, himself.

Cybil and Leslie were rushed to Hope immediately upon their exit, Victor and Tyler talking Sidney into letting them stay on the scene. They were now talking with the chief of police, giving the force insight on what was happening inside. Shortly after they gave information, the two climbed inside the van where Sidney's phone was still connected to Tyler's phone inside, listening to the events unfold.

Angie's iPod was still blaring out random tracks, now playing the song "No Way Back" by the Foo Fighters. Halfway through the song the pair were still silent, save for Derek's random interjection.

"I didn't know you liked the Foo Fighters…" Derek said softly into her ear, watching as she turned her face up towards him.

"I'm surprised you didn't… I love the Foo Fighters…"

"Yeah, me too…"

The attempt at small talk was short lived, as both returned to the previous state of silence.

Blaring through the short-lived bout of quiet was the telephone at the nurses' station, the surprise of the call forcing both Derek and Angie to jump. And still eyeing them cautiously, Erik reached over and picked it up.

----------

"It's ringing…" Officer Brooks said to the chief, both men standing around as they waited for him to pick up.

"So Mr. Corrigan… you've let four of the six hostages go already, what can we do to get the other two out of there?"

He paused, furrowing his forehead as an answer was given.

"I mean getting them out of there without harm… let's try negotiating again, I'm sure there can be some sort of agreement we can reach…"

There was a loud response from the other end, before the officer pulled the phone away from his ear, an annoyed stare on his face.

"He hung up…" Brooks stated, placing his hands on his hips.

"Well, what did he say before that?" the chief asked.

----------

Derek and Angie just watched Erik as he listened intently to the officer on the other line.

"Eyes on the floor!" he shouted at the two of them, both jumping to his request.

A voice was heard speaking on the other line, but neither Derek nor Angie could make out what was being said.

"Oh, they'll get out of here alright… in body bags…"

A shiver lanced through Derek's body that prompted him to hug around Angie's shoulders for comfort.

Another pause was heard as the officer made a rebuttal, followed by a huge laugh from Erik.

"Negotiation? Yeah right – I'm either going to leave here dead or be carted off to spend the rest of my life in jail. So as long as I'm around I'm going finish what I came here for - and that's finish this fucker off, and get my hands all over his nurse."

"You won't touch her, you prick!" Derek shouted, feeling Angie cower into him.

A sneer made its way across Erik's face, his hate-filled eyes now littered with amusement.

Derek knew that his outburst had hit the wrong chord with Erik as instead of continuing to talk, he slammed the phone into the cradle.

His shoes clomped against the tile with each step he took, closing in on the two of them in no time at all. He delayed his movements, successful in instilling fear and suspense into both of them as they waited to see what he wanted. His eyes stared at Derek, and then slowly traced over to Angie. Back to Derek again, and then Angie once more, before he spoke.

"Get up."

Angie looked at Derek and then back at Erik.

"I said, get up."

She had heard the command, but something inside her refused to let her move. Eyes full of fear, Angie looked back at Derek for what she feared would be the last time…

The silent but tender moment they shared was cut short as Angie was pulled up by her hair, now in Erik's grasps. One hand holding her hair tightly and the other gripping her arm just above the elbow, Erik just sneered at Derek who was ready to kick his ass.

The surgeon jumped immediately to his feet and approached the two, who backed away from him under Erik's power.

"I'm the one you want… just take me and leave her alone!" he exclaimed.

Erik tightened his grip on Angie's hair with Derek's outburst, producing a small whimper that visibly contorted Derek's face into a sad, hopeless expression. Seeing this display Erik smiled again, realizing he had finally discovered the surgeon's weak spot.

"So tell me, Doctor…" Erik began with a cynical tone as he mocked the surgeon. "How is it that you can watch your other friends get hurt, but the second I lay a hand on your nurse here, you flip out? Did I not torture them enough the first time around, or are you just in love with her?"

Derek paused as both Erik and Angie waited for his reply.

"You punished them more than enough – they never deserved to be a part of this…"

"Oh…" he replied. "So, you _are_ in love with her…"

The surgeon stopped again, gritting his teeth. He knew that this was a trap – say too much and he would torture her, or say too little and he might hurt her worse, being able to see through his lie.

Derek's eyes locked with Angie's.

"_I'm sorry Angie – hopefully you can understand..."_

"I don't love her…"

Hoping he was lying, Angie felt the grip on her hair loosen at Derek's relevation, unable to hide the disappointed look that now graced her face. He noticed it and locked eyes with her, hoping silently that she didn't think it was really true.

"You don't?" Erik asked, looking mildly confused.

"No, I don't love her. She's a good friend of mine and my long time assistant – that's all."

Derek choked the last of the sentence out, barely able to say what was nearly the biggest lie he had ever told. Now, to wonder if Erik actually believed him…

Erik just fixated his eyes on Derek's face, trying to read his expression through the stone front the doctor had put up. He remained quiet, trying to decide whether or not Derek was lying, before his face turned into a slimy smile.

"Nice try Stiles, but lying about it just strengthens the punishment for both of you…" he snapped, kicking the door to their office open further with his foot and pushing Angie inside. She spun around and looked at Derek, barely able to see him as Corrigan's body blocked the doorway.

"Move from that spot, and I'll blow her head off. You understand?"

Derek looked at Angie helplessly, knowing that if he tried to save her, it would do more harm than good.

"Derek! Derek, ple—"

Angie's panicked cry was cut off as the door slammed, leaving him on the wrong side of it.

"Let's get something more romantic on in here, shall we?" Erik asked, watching as Angie backed into the corner behind Derek's desk pulling his chair in front of her body to block him.

"_Stay away from me!"_

Her scream was muffled from the closed door, but Derek could still hear her perfectly. Tears collected in his eyes as he listened to everything unfold inside their office, never feeling more useless in his life than he did at that moment.

Angie's hands were gripping tightly onto the top of Derek's desk chair, trying to use it as a weapon against her approaching attacker. He ripped it out of her hands as taking a toy from a child, spinning it back behind him where it crashed into the wall.

"Even though you're a mouthy bitch, I've looked forward to getting a piece of your hot ass since the second I saw you…"

Angie instantly began to tear up, knowing that if Derek didn't do something fast, she was mere seconds away from getting raped. Reaching her hand over and feeling around on Derek's desk for another weapon, Angie suddenly felt as though she was going to vomit when her trembling, pale hand felt the cold metal of Derek's keys…

…there was no way for him to get into the office.

The whole ordeal, Angie had been able to keep a slightly optimistic attitude when thinking of the fact that she had someone she loved by her side to protect her and stay with her. With the announcement that Derek didn't love her back and the fact that now Erik was mere inches away from doing with her as he pleased, Angie finally felt her spirit break, unable to do anything except stand there and pray that it would be over soon. She thought momentarily about fighting back, but realized that it was pointless… this was her fate.

"Get off of me!" she shrieked through her cries, her pleads conjuring up a wave of emotions from Derek on the other side of the door.

"Angie…" he whispered, suddenly becoming enraged as he listened to them struggle inside.

"ANGIE!" he yelled, banging on the door. He didn't care what was going to happen to him because of this – he was going to get in that room one way or another and beat that guy to death.

"Angie, open the door!" Derek yelled again, pounding on it with his fists.

Erik lifted his mouth off of hers, previously having her locked in a forced kiss which made her feel like she was going to vomit up what little she had eaten that day.

"Why do you care, Stiles?" Erik yelled over his shoulder, still forcefully pinning Angie against the wall with his towering frame, his grimy hands all over her body. "It's not like you love her anyway, why should you care what I do with her?"

Angie hoped for a response, only hearing silence from Derek on the other end of the door.

"That's what I thought, fucker…" Erik muttered, turning his attention back to Angie. She swatted at his hand as it crept up her thigh, trying with all her weight to push him off of her, but to no avail. His mouth was back on hers now, forcing his tongue into her mouth. She felt herself gag as his putrid breath mingled with her own, his hands dangerously close to somewhere that no one had ever been.

The blonde nurse squeezed her green eyes shut, desperate to think of anything else as the unholy bastard ravaged her body with his hands, his mouth now clamped on her neck. It was no use, as not even the best memories she possessed could help her think of anything else, Miserably turning her head to the right, she opened her eyes…

…just as Derek busted in through the door.

"Derek!" she squealed, still crying as Erik lifted his head off of her and turned his attention to the surgeon, who was gripping a baseball bat that hung down by his side. Angie immediately recognized it as the autographed one from Tyler's office, remembering that he also had a spare key to their office in his desk. She smiled internally – he had come to save her.

"Why the fuck are you in here…? Can't you see we're busy?" Erik snapped, grabbing hard onto Angie's chest with his giant hands.

Derek glowered, taking a step towards Erik, who from what he could see, had the gun in his pocket.

"I'm in here…" Derek started, pausing as he tossed the spare key to the office on the desk, the metal clinking before it came to a rest.

"…Because I love her."

And before either Angie or Erik saw what was coming, Derek swung the bat upward, cracking him in the side of the head with a sound that was positively sickening.

Angie let out a scared gasp, watching Erik crumple to the floor. Derek stared at him for a moment before turning his gaze back to Angie, who was smiling at him with an incredibly relieved look on her face.

"You, came to save me…?" she asked, sniffling a bit as she smiled.

Derek cracked a small grin while walking towards her, careful to step over Erik's unconscious form.

"Of course I did... I can't believe you think I wouldn't."

Extending his hand towards her with an exhausted smile, Derek helped a very wobbly Angie over Erik's body, slowly walking with her towards the exit…

…when she was grabbed from his grasps from behind.

Before he knew what hit him, Derek felt himself be shoved forcefully out of his office, tripping once before he eventually toppled to the floor, baseball bat clattering next to him. Erik's face appeared in the small crack of the door as Derek rolled over to look at him.

"You think that weak ass hit took me out? Tch… It only made what's about to happen to her worse – especially now that I know you really do love her… and believe me, I'm going to love making her scream, just because I know it's going to drive you crazy."

Derek jumped to his feet, pushing his body to its max to get to the door, but it was of no use – Erik slammed it shut before he could get there.

Smacking himself in the forehead for being so stupid as to leave the spare key in the room, Derek leaned back against the wall just to the left of his office door, sinking down until he was seated on the tile. It was all his fault – sure he had done his best to try to save her, but in the end he had failed: and from what he could hear, that ended up hurting her worse in the long run.

A sting pricked at the corners of Derek's eyes, quickly progressing into a pool of tears that threatened to stain his cheeks at any moment. He felt hopeless, listening to Erik say things to Angie which literally made his blood boil. The quest to fight back had failed and now he was left all alone, waiting to see what would happen next.

Rolling his head to the right, he noticed the bat lying just in front of the door to his office.

"_At least I still have some sort of weapon..._"

He used the wall as leverage, shakily rising to his feet where he walked over and picked up the bat from its position on the tile. He was proud of the fact that he had made a pretty solid hit on Erik, though it failed to do the damage necessary to really take him down…

Gripping onto the bat tighter, Derek thought for a minute, realizing that if he had just one more chance – one more opportunity to catch him off guard, that maybe… just maybe, he could take him down.

Swiftly but quietly he ran towards the door which his four friends had left through, relieved to find it still unlocked. As quiet as he possibly could he swung it all the way open, pressing it against the back of the wall where a giant magnet held it open. No sooner did he do this than he heard a scream come from their office, his heart sinking back into his stomach once more.

"_Just hold on Angie... do something to get him outside and I'll save us – I promise."_

Taking the nurses' station as a shortcut, Derek ran to the other side of the hallway, crouching behind the counter to the station, the door to his office just in front of him and to the left. Hidden from plain view he waited, knowing that he was running out of chances to get them both out alive.

Angie was successful in pushing Erik off of her momentarily, seemingly gaining back her hope after Derek had tried to come rescue her. The fighting spirit of hers came back in full force as she swiftly moved around the room, calling to mind several Aikido techniques that she had learned during her years of study.

A coffee table separated them now, Angie just in front of the couch, and Erik staring at her with an angry yet annoyed stare from the other side.

"Oh come on baby, quit being difficult…" he cooed, lurching forward to grab onto her arm, which she managed to dodge. A quick run around the table and they were back where they started, staring at one another in a deadlock.

"Uggh.. ENOUGH!" he yelled as he bent down and placed a hand under the coffee table.

Anticipating the move, Angie readied herself, knowing that she most likely only had one shot at this…

She watched as the coffee table flipped, bouncing over and crashing into her desk with a loud bang that seemingly vibrated the ground underneath her.

Erik took a step towards her, his advance coming to a screeching halt as Angie's heel spun towards him, forcefully kicking him in the side of the head and sending him clattering into Derek's desk.

And outside Derek grew nervous having heard two giant clatters in a row… all he could do was stay put and pray that Angie was okay, which he found the answer to as Erik began yelling.

"Stupid BITCH!"

Angie nervously backed into a corner, watching Erik stagger to his feet and over towards her. Before she could think to shield herself he punched her in the side of the face, dropping her to the floor with an excruciating scream.

Derek listened to her scream, becoming very concerned when he realized it was a scream of blinding pain, not just one of being taken advantage of. Crouched and steadied on the balls of his feet, he backed further up into his hiding place as the door to the office was thrown open, slamming against the wall with a bang. He could hear Angie clearly crying and trying to fight, losing the battle as her body was literally thrown out into the hallway.

Derek's eyes widened as her body hit the floor and skidded to a halt, her back facing him. Still crying she rolled onto her back and then in his direction, eyes squeezed shut as she gripped onto her face. Unimaginable rage filled Derek as he saw what looked like a punch to her cheek, watching her shiver as her clothes were rumpled and half undone. She curled tightly into a ball just as Erik walked out and kicked her in the side.

It took all of the strength Derek had in him not to get up and run to help her – instead he sunk further back behind the counter, knowing that if she saw him, his cover would be blown. Erik paced back into the office and one of Angie's eyes snapped open, the other remaining closed as it was now partially swollen. Derek could tell she was searching the area for him, looking mildly panicked when he was nowhere to be found. Using what little strength she had, Angie began to crawl away from Derek and their office, desperate to gain some distance between her and her assailant.

Swearing profusely, Erik walked back out of the room with his gun in his hand, gripping it tightly as his dark eyes stared down at a petrified Angie. Derek watched as Erik looked over at the open door at the end of the hallway, immediately falling for the trap.

"Oh that FUCKER!" he screamed. "He left? He actually left?!"

----------

Outside, Tyler and Victor sat in the van, watching the sniper still trying to find a spot from which he could even see the people inside. Listening to the conversation from inside blare over Sidney's mic'd speakerphone, they suddenly became alarmed as Erik started screaming.

"_He left? He actually left?!"_

Tyler and Victor traded glances with each other and then with the officer that was with them, all three slightly panicked.

"Derek left?!" Tyler exclaimed, jumping to his feet as he grabbed the pair of binoculars at his side, looking Caduceus over for any signs of the surgeon.

The officer radioed to the chief who immediately came running over with two other officers.

"The guy's freaking out in there – he says Derek's gone…"

"WHAT?!" the chief roared, immediately sending orders for the men to watch out for all exits. Seeing the commotion, Sidney and Robert rushed over to the van, shocked and confused upon hearing the news as well.

"How's the shot coming along?" the chief asked the sniper, everyone watching as he turned back to face them.

"He's in the perfect position where I have no shot… if I move farther to the right the window ends, and moving to the left is pointless because he's not in front of the window…"

"So, what now?" Sidney asked, looking at the sniper.

"…We wait."

Sidney had never liked being told to wait, and this was definitely no exception.

…especially when another gunshot rang from inside the building.

Tyler looked through the binoculars again, constantly badgered by the rest of those around to tell him what he saw.

The blonde removed the binoculars from his face, mouth in a big grin.

"What's happening?! Tell us!"

Tyler chuckled.

"Well, Derek's not gone, that's for sure…"

----------

Derek could feel his insides twist with sadness as Angie turned her head up to look at the open door, her cries coming again as she became scared that he really did leave her alone.

In his disbelief at the situation, Erik stumbled a few steps backwards, now just two feet away from Derek's hiding spot, his back still turned to the stealthy surgeon. Ready to jump up and reacquaint his face with the bat, Derek instead spiraled into a panic as he heard the gun cock, a whimpering Angie staring down the barrel.

"Your doctor sure must love you if he would leave you here…" he began sarcastically, the gun firmly pointed at Angie. "I already told him if he dared leave that I would blow you to smithereens…"

Derek quietly rose from his hiding spot, bat held in a ready swinging position.

"… and sorry to say, a promise _is_ a promise…"

Stepping towards Erik quickly yet silently, Derek pulled the bat back behind him, aiming quickly as he knew he only had one swing to get it right. He felt instant relief when on the completion of his swing, the bat made contact with the gun and sent it flying across the room. It discharged somewhere unknown and Angie screamed in shock, quickly discovering that another hole graced the drywall at the end of the hallway, just feet behind where she laid.

"ANGIE!" Derek yelled as he took another swing, this time cracking Erik in the skull again. "Angie, get the gun!"

Angie was a mess of emotions as she tried as fast as she could to rise to her feet, stumbling forward towards where the black pistol laid. She pitched forward as her wobbly legs gave out from under her, now crawling to the gun.

"Die, you son of a bitch!" Derek yelled, taking another swing.

Instead of cracking Erik again, the bat stopped in mid swing, the giant hand of their attacker now firmly encircling the big end of the weapon. He spun fully around until directly facing Derek, reaching up and placing his other free hand on the end of the bat with the handle. The two men glared at each other in a deadlock, two different shades of brown eyes at battle while their hands were doing the same. Pulling the weapon towards him, Erik suddenly threw all of his strength into the bat as he let go, sending Derek sailing backwards through the air and into the wall. He rubbed his head from where it made impact with the drywall, watching out of the corner of his eye as Angie grew ever closer to obtaining possession of the gun.

"Rule number one of taking hostages…" Erik explained, his gut-wrenching laugh billowing into the air. He bent over and pulled up his pant leg, removing another revolver from a holster just above his ankle.

"No…" Derek muttered under his breath, willing his tired body to rise to its feet once more.

"…Always bring backup."

"Angie…!! RUN!!"

Angie's blonde hair fanned out around her in a circle as she whipped her head back to see another gun in Erik's grasps, Derek trying quickly to close the distance between them. He leapt forward, trying to jump in front of the projectile…

…when the gun discharged, and Angie filled the air with one of the most blood-curdling screams Derek had ever heard in his life.

Derek crashed to the floor just in front of Erik, extending his head upward to see Angie screaming, holding her thigh as blood poured out from between her fingers.

The brunette grit his teeth, using his position on the floor to swing around and kick Erik's feet out from under him. His massive limbs flailed a few times in the air as gravity pulled him down and into the tile, his back slamming against it first upon contact. Having flew out of his hand when he was falling, the gun clattered on the tile a short time before Erik hit the ground, and Derek began to crawl towards it immediately.

Through her pain, Angie finally managed to get to the other gun, sitting up as she stretched her arm as far as it would go to set the weapon on the counter. With all her might and only one leg, she pulled herself up by the edge of the counter into a standing position, grabbing the gun off of the countertop and pointing it at Erik, who was now wrestling Derek for the other firearm.

Angie stood shakily holding the gun as she leaned against the counter for support, pointing it at Erik, whom she quickly noted she did not have a clear shot of. She watched as he regained control of his gun, backhanding Derek across the face with it that produced an instant laceration on the forehead of the surgeon's face and dropped him to the ground. Erik immediately bent down and yanked Derek up by the collar of his scrubs, spinning him around and holding him firmly against his body with an arm around his neck, both of them now facing Angie.

Derek began to shake uncontrollably when he heard Erik cock the gun, and nearly defecated himself upon feeling the cold, metal barrel settle directly on his temple. Chunks of his messy brown hair fell in front of his eyes as he stared at his nurse across the room, eyes silently begging her to do something while the gushing blood from his gash dyed his tanned skin a savory crimson. Upon looking at her some more, Derek learned that she was not looking at him – her narrow, determined eyes locked on Erik.

The three stood in a stalemate – Angie pointing her gun at Erik, and Erik pointing his at Derek, none brave enough to make the first move.

----------

"Oh, SHIT! Murray! Murray, you better hurry the fuck up!"

The sniper responded to Officer Brooks' plead with only silence, trying not to be rattled under the extreme pressure.

"What's going on?" Sidney asked, watching Tyler as he pulled the binoculars to his face once again.

"Oh God… There's a gun to Derek's head."

"Give me those!" Sidney barked, nearly ripping the binoculars out of Tyler's grasps.

"Oh, damn…"

"I know, right?" Tyler responded, watching Sidney shoot him a glare.

"I'm not talking about Derek, I'm talking about Angie!"

The chief, Victor, Robert, and Tyler all snapped to look at Sidney, who handed the binoculars over to the chief.

"What's happening? What about Angie?!" Tyler exclaimed.

The chief turned back around, glaring at the crew.

"She's got a gun…"

----------

"Drop the gun, and I won't blow your boyfriend to bits."

The words stung like the side of her face, which was now swollen and slightly bloody.

Derek stared at Angie with his eyes wide, pleading for her to do as he said.

"…N-No.."

Erik chuckled for a brief moment, shoving the barrel into the side of Derek's head harder as she defied him.

"No…? You… want, to see him die?" he retorted, tightening his grip on Derek.

Angie stood shaking as she tried to hold herself up, the pain in her leg nearly unbearable.

"I didn't say that, I just said I'm not going to let go…"

_I know Derek's in front of him, but he's way taller – if I can just focus... just for one minute, I know I can take him out. But, one wrong move..._

----------

The chief and two officers, Victor, Robert, Tyler, and Sidney all listened in shock to the mic'd conversation, learning that Angie was refusing to give up the gun.

"What is she DOING?!" Sidney roared, looking in the window through the binoculars. He could faintly make out Derek and the man, but had a perfect view of Angie.

"She's going to get them both killed…" Robert said with his voice barely above a whisper.

"He needs to take the shot… they're nearly in front of the window, and he said that he had it lined up, didn't he?"

The chief looked at Sidney after his sudden outburst, visibly annoyed.

"Mr. Kasal, snipers do not work well when they have people screaming at them – this is something that requires the utmost caution."

Raising a hand to his forehead, Sidney scoffed, trying to reason.

"But… he's going to kill him – enough people have been injured, you need to step in!"

"Mr. Kasal…!" the chief said firmly, stepping toward Sidney. "One more outburst and you will be removed from this area… do you understand me?"

Sidney nodded. Sure, patience wasn't his strong point – but having orders barked at him was something he had an even harder time with.

----------

"I will give you one more chance…" Erik muttered, his voice now dark and sinister. "Drop, the gun."

"Angie, please drop the gun…" Derek pleaded, staring at her with a hopeful gaze. She was losing strength in her good leg fast, knowing that she had to make a decision.

"If you don't drop the gun I'll kill him, and then I'll kill you right after… Make your decision wisely…"

As another silence loomed through the hall, Derek caught a glance outside, observing what a circus the Caduceus parking lot had turned into. Scanning over the multitudes of people Derek's eyebrows raised and his eyes filled with a glimmer of hope – there was a sniper perched on the top of a patrol car, the gun pointed directly in the window.

Derek Stiles had taken plenty of risks that day, but as he stood in the grasps of a madman who had put both he and the woman he loved through hell, he decided on an action, knowing that it would be his last chance.

Whether or not he would be alive at the end of it – that was the question.

"Wait…"

Angie stopped as Derek's deep but trembling voice broke the silence.

"I have a proposition for you."

"_Hurry Derek, I can't stand much longer!"_

"For me?"

Derek could feel Erik's breath on the top of his head as he responded to him.

"Yes, for you…"

Erik paused momentarily, eyes still locked on Angie, who looked as though she wasn't going to be able to hold her footing much longer.

"I'm listening, Stiles…"

Derek kept his stare with Angie across the room as he spoke.

"I don't want anything to happen to Angie… she doesn't deserve any more than you've put her through."

"Oh, cut the mushy gushy shit and get to the point already…"

Derek paused, biting his lip as he sent her a warm smile, before tears pooled in his eyes.

"Let her go safely…"

He took in a staggering breath, watching Angie's face contort into a mix of panic and confusion.

"…and you can kill me."

----------

"Oh, DAMMIT!"

The chief's scream mirrored each and every one of the other people's thoughts as they heard Derek's proposition loud and clear over the speaker.

"What is he DOING?!" Victor exclaimed, as he whipped his vision over towards Tyler.

The blonde surgeon just stood with his arms crossed, staring up at the window of which they were in front of. His head shook back and forth slowly, a sympathetic smile on his face as he pondered Victor's question, immediately knowing the answer.

"He loves her…"

----------

"Derek…!"

The brown-haired surgeon turned up his teary eyes to see Angie sobbing, desperately gripping at the counter to hold her balance.

"Derek, no! No, y-you… you can't! I won't let you!"

"Stiles…?"

He heard Erik's husky voice from behind him, body frozen as he waited for the response.

"…You've got yourself a deal."

"NO!" Angie screamed, now crying so hard she sank back down to the floor. "D-Derek… Derek, NO! P-Please d-d-don't, do this!!"

Her cries ate into his soul, finally freeing the tears that were pooled in his eyes. And as he felt them trickle down his cheeks one by one, he couldn't help but think that what he was doing really was for the best.

----------

"Now we're in trouble – he accepted Derek's offer, but Angie's not moving, and the shot is too risky from here… we have a very short amount of time before one or both of them dies."

Sidney was now fed up at the lack of action shown, beginning to lose his temper again.

"Okay, we can't stand around here anymore… are you guys going to fucking take the shot or what?! Who cares if it's risky – that's what your training is for!"

"Mr. Kasal – ONE MORE outburst and we will place you under arrest!"

Sidney bit his lip hard to keep from yelling again.

----------

"You heard him – get out of here!" Erik yelled at Angie, the nurse still sobbing hopelessly on the floor.

"No! I… I won't go – I w-won't leave him!"

"Leave, or you watch him die…" was the answer Angie received, short and snappy.

"You can't do this… you can't!"

"Angie…"

Derek's gentle voice prompted Angie to lift her head up, looking into his eyes which had love and sincerity pouring out of them.

"It's okay… it will be okay…"

His calmness over the situation did nothing but aggravate her.

"No, how could you say that?! It won't be okay!"

As she collapsed into sobs again, Derek changed his voice to a more stern tone, this time catching her attention for real.

"Angie, you need to go. Please…"

She looked up at him, hearing him use the voice he only used whenever he really meant business.

"Please…_trust_ me."

With emphasis on the word trust, Derek stared at Angie, hoping that she figured out what he was doing.

And with a sniffle and a positively miserable glare, Angie started to crawl away with her own plan… she wasn't leaving at all. Instead, she crawled just behind the nurses' station and hid, staying still for several minutes before she heard the men talk again.

"Okay, I hope you're ready…" Erik sneered, cocking the gun. "I know I sure am – I've been waiting for this moment all day…"

Derek heaved in a big breath as he glanced outside one last time, most notably at the sniper who was still ready to go.

"Wait… one more request, if I may?"

Erik scoffed. "You're annoying as shit, you know that?"

"I'm sorry... it's just… there's quite the circus going on outside, and I really don't want my death on tape – I don't want my family to see it… Can you just, step behind me and shield me from the window?"

Erik released his grip on Derek, the younger man rubbing his sore neck with a wince.

"Fine – bullet to the back of the head… what a nice way to go out…"

"_Here's where I pray they're paying attention..."_

----------

"Oh damn… Murray, get in position – I think Stiles has a plan in there!" the chief yelled, everyone around hoping that Derek would be able to pull it off.

"What am I watching for?" he yelled back, shot still lined up.

"Watch for him to shield Derek with his back to us… it's a clean shot, but you'll have to hurry!"

"Come on, Derek…" Tyler mumbled under his breath. "You can do this man…"

Everyone outside stood in silence as they waited for something to happen.

----------

Erik moved his towering form behind Derek, the surgeon's hands braced on the counter as he waited for the impact.

"We had fun today Stiles, I do admit… but watching your brains splatter marks the best day of my life…"

Derek squeezed his eyes shut, wondering what was taking so long outside.

----------

"There it is!" Sidney exclaimed, looking through a pair of binoculars. "He's in plan view, take the shot!"

"Mr. Kasal, do not address him directly, this is a crucial time period…"

Just then, Sidney lost it.

"CRUCIAL TIME PERIOD MY ASS! TAKE THE FUCKING SHOT OR YOU'RE GOING TO GET HIM KILLED!!"

It was in that moment Sidney saw two officers walking towards him.

"No… NO! Don't!"

He struggled against them, but was no match as they began to drag him away from the scene… just as the sniper cocked his gun.

----------

A shiver lanced through Derek's body as he felt the cold metal of the gun pressed firmly against the back of his skull – this was it.

Angie snuck out from around the corner and stood at the end of the nurses station, trying to hold in her anguished cries as she watched Derek with a gun pointed to the back of his head. Here he was, possibly about to die, and stupid her never told him how she felt… how, grateful she was to him for saving her life so many times that day…

And as Derek's eyes blinked open and shut again, the only thoughts in his mind were of her – her smile and her laugh, her warm heart and her personality… he swore that if he made it out of this alive, he was going to ask her to marry him the second he saw her…

"Hope the media didn't find another way to tape thi—"

Derek felt the barrel rise from the back of his head, Erik's body still behind him.

"You sneaky fucking son of a bitch…!"

Erik chose the exact moment the sniper fired the shot to step out from behind Derek, moving to his left side, but still in plain view of the window. Derek's shattering scream rang in the air as the bullet pierced through his back, his body slumping over the counter and falling onto the floor where it laid still.

----------

"FUCK!" Murray yelled, leaving everyone around to panic.

"What's the matter Murray?" the chief asked, watching as he immediately reloaded.

"I fucking missed… get paramedics in there NOW – I got Derek!"

Grief-filled shrieks were heard from random patrons watching the scene from the parking lot.

Tyler immediately felt his eyes water, placing a hand over his mouth as he breathed slowly. That was his best friend… this couldn't be happening.

Robert dropped his head instantly in prayer again, and Victor just mumbled the word "No..." over and over again as he sadly shook his head back and forth.

The officers dragging Sidney stopped in their tracks, setting the director on the ground gently, who just sat and stared miserably up at the building, closing his eyes and gripping his head in his hands.

Tyler looked up, seeing the police motion for the paramedics to stay put. _Why were they doing that – they needed to get to his best friend!_

Still holding his head, Sidney opened his eyes, noting that things seemed to be moving much slower now… that, time was seemingly standing still. He could see people yelling, barking orders, but failed to register their words – simple fact was, he didn't care what they were saying… all that mattered was that Derek and Angie were okay.

"Dammit… stay there, stay there, stay there…" the sniper mumbled to himself as Erik remained standing in front of the window.

With the thumbs up from the sniper, the medical team rushed inside, followed by hoards of members of the SWAT team and the Angeles Bay Police Department.

And all of Derek and Angie's loved ones were stuck outside in the deafening silence with nothing to do but hope, and wait.

----------

Erik noticed Angie standing at the end of the nurses' station as Derek was shot, her scream making it hard to go unnoticed.

"What the fuck are you doing here?!" he screamed, reaching for his gun which he had laid on the counter.

Even with his words she still sobbed, using what little strength she had to remain standing with the help of the counter. Her eyes remained transfixed on Derek's motionless form, noticing that although the top of his head was facing her, his eyes were not open. This launched Angie into another state of panic, not even paying attention to the fact that a gun was being pulled on her yet again. And until she was told to "shut the fuck up", Angie never even registered that she had been screaming Derek's name the whole time.

"Doesn't matter – I owe him nothing now… say goodbye…"

And right as the gun cocked, another gunshot came firing in through the window, this time burrowing straight into the side of Erik's skull. He was dead upon impact, that much she could tell, but she still watched to make sure.

His body swayed for a brief moment before he went toppling forward, landing directly on top of Derek's unconscious body…

…where neither man so much as stirred.

* * *

**Man I really liked writing this chapter - especially when Derek van Dam's in the door to save Angie. IS IT TOO MUCH FOR YOU TO SAY I LOVE YOU BACK, ANGIE?**

**Oh wait, she does that in ch. 1. Woops :D **

**So, now the story will skip back to chapter one, and chapter 10 will go up as soon as I finish it. I hope you enjoyed this, and please let me know what you thought! Adios! **


	10. Hero

**Okay.**

**For anyone who is still paying attention to this story, I am finally back. And now I am done updating my stuff, so we can all stop the hatemail, mmk? (Just kidding). I know it's been awhile, but this took awhile to work on so I hope that you all enjoy it.**

**I will not say anything else, because I'll just let you read. A big thanks to CGP for helping be my beta :D.**

**Enjoy! **

* * *

It had been a beautiful day. The sun shone over Angeles Bay the entire day, seemingly mocking the grave situation which had unfolded at one of the world's most prestigious medical facilities. 

Still light outside, the sun was drifting towards the horizon, gradually bringing the black night sky, which would mirror the darkest day of a staff which had already been a part of much grief. Yet as the day was progressing on – as lives of those unaffected were continually being lived, five people's had come to a screeching halt, waiting to see if they would ever be able to see Derek Stiles open his eyes for another day.

Two mentors stood together with their heads bowed in prayer for what seemed like the millionth time that day, hoping there was some way that the brilliant surgeon responsible for saving nearly the whole world had found a way to save himself.

Two friends stood by a police van together, trying to stay positive, eyes stinging with accumulating tears. One had known Derek since college, many of his med school memories including the surgeon and his quirky personality. The other had known him for just a short time, failing to admit on several occasions that he actually liked him. Though the more and more he smiled, had a nice thing to say, or just took the time out to talk, the researcher found himself feeling that maybe he wasn't such a bad guy after all.

And the last of the five people was still inside the building, and had watched the man she loved meet his current fate. She had assisted him for a long time, fallen for him, and though she had to watch him almost die once, it didn't come close to comparing to the feeling she felt at that moment. Still screaming for help she kissed his unresponsive face over and over, pleading with him to wake up – to be able to stay with her. She had weathered this entire storm with him, and had it not been for his incredible selflessness, she wasn't sure if she would have made it.

Five unique people with incredibly different ties to Derek Stiles all shared a common bond on that warm, spring day – they were forced to wait on life or death.

The police and EMT's stopped in Caduceus's lobby on command from one of the techs, another one running back out to the scene and ushering Robert Hoffman through the hoards of yellow tape and officers.

"Excuse me, how can I help?" he asked, heart still racing a mile a minute.

"We need a familiar face to help with these two – and if there are any serious complications we'll need you to deal with them… it's Dr. Stiles' best chance for survival." one of the EMT's blurted out, all of the techs and officers waiting for Robert's response.

Robert felt his heart drop into his stomach – could he really handle this? The last time he had been in charge of saving someone he loved it had gone so horribly wrong…

With a glance over his shoulder at Sidney, Dr. Hoffman felt comforted inside as he gave him the thumbs up with a small smile and nod of his head.

The surgeon turned back to the waiting team and gripped onto the side of the stretcher they were carrying, nodding his head as they all began running forward.

Hopefully, it wasn't too late.

----------

Angie's professional experience didn't even come close to clicking in her head as she laid on the cold tile next to Derek, own injury sucking the strength from her every second. The only thing she could tell was that she didn't have much more consciousness left, making a silent vow to herself to stay awake until she knew Derek would be alright.

It had not occurred to her to check for a pulse or other basic vital signs like she did with any other patient, for the mere fact that he wasn't just any other patient. At that time, she was not a nurse, just a woman trying to bring back the love of her life from the brink of death before he slipped over the edge and left her forever.

"SOMEBODY HELP! -- PLEASE!! … PLE-EASE!!"

The scream caught Robert's ear from the floor below and clear across the hospital, making his heart skip a beat. Never had he heard panic in Angie's voice like that before – part of him froze, realizing that he was most likely about to tackle one of the most difficult things he had ever experienced before. But hearing her scream again, he bolted even faster around the hallway, stopping at the elevator with the team.

Pressing the button he noticed quickly that it didn't light up, that no motors were running, nothing.

"Man, that son of a bitch really knew what he was doing…" the tech muttered as Robert pulled a set of keys out of his pocket, shoving a tiny gold one into the emergency ring just below the elevator buttons. It opened immediately and they wheeled the stretcher inside, ascending immediately after the doors closed.

"Derek…! Derek, you don't understand… you have to wake up! Ple…Please… d-don't leave me! Please!" Angie cried, still cradling his face in her hands.

At the end of the hallway from where the famous surgical duo laid bloody, a small ding was heard as the silver doors to the elevator pulled apart, the paramedics and officers following the elder surgeon's lead as he sprinted down the hallway, navigating the many twists and turns of Caduceus.

"_HELP! ANYBODY, PLEASE?!"_

Dr. Hoffman heard Angie's panicked scream once more, clenching his jaw as he willed his body to move faster.

"HANG ON ANGIE, WE'RE COMING!" he yelled at the top of his lungs as he raced around the last corner, seeing the place they had all been held at the end of the hall. There was no turning back now and he knew that, but as he grew closer and the horrific scene became visible, Robert felt his legs turn to lead – the paramedics and officers passing him by as he gradually slowed to a stop.

"Oh no…" he whispered, raking a hand through his greyed hair.

Immediately one of the paramedics began looking Angie over, motioning to the officer who ran just a small distance away and grabbed a wheelchair as Robert paced ever closer to the two.

"Dr. Hoffman!" Angie shrieked, still refusing to give up her hold on Derek.

"Ms. Thompson, you have to let go!" one of the medics pushed, trying to pull her away. Though weakened from her blood loss, Angie's grip remained firm on Derek as she looked up at her boss.

"Doctor – please… please, you have to… you have to, save him!" she sobbed, sincere cries breaking Robert's heart as he listened to them.

"Get off me!" she shrieked as they continued to try to pull her back and away from her doctor, her pleads for him to open his eyes never ceasing.

Robert walked towards Angie and knelt down next to her with a very calm demeanor, lifting her chin to look at him. She fought him at first but obliged the second time he tried, looking at him with worried eyes.

"Angie, in order to save Derek I need you to let go so I can look at him. Please." he said quietly, locked in a staring match until the nurse relinquished her hold on her surgeon and launched into another fit of sobs, letting the medic take her a small ways back to assess her injury.

Still on his knees Robert crawled over to Derek, looking at the giant stain of blood centered directly around his spine. The officers and other medics were waiting on his lead, watching as his shaking hand reached for the bottom of Derek's shirt beginning to pull it up slowly, knowing what waited for him was probably not good.

"Oh thank GOD…" Robert sighed exasperatedly, seeing that the entrance wound had missed the spine. It was instead in the lower right of his back, his shirt just twisted enough to center the blood pool around his spine.

"That's one relief…" he said, reaching forward to check the pulse on Derek's neck.

"Very weak and thready… he's in major shock – not surprising. Attach him to the monitor, quickly!" he said, watching as the techs strapped a small sensor over Derek's index finger, showing that his vitals were way down.

Hoffman leaned down as the medics set up the little monitor, checking his breathing.

"Okay, its very slow and weak but at least he's still breat—"

The medics and the officers exchanged a glance, looking at Robert immediately after. The surgeon's violet eyes scanned over to Angie, who was watching him like a hawk, her expression growing ever more panicked when she saw him look at her.

Trying to be as quiet as possible to not let her hear, Robert leaned forward towards the paramedics.

"He just stopped breathing. We have to move. _NOW."_

From her position on the floor Angie couldn't make out what he was saying, but she had the feeling whatever it was, it wasn't good.

The medics readied the stretcher and Robert motioned to the medic by Angie to get her out of there, knowing that the cardiac monitor they had attached to him was going to go off at any minute, spilling their secret to the distraught nurse.

"Okay Ms. Thompson, you're losing a lot of blood... we're going to move you into a chair and get you out of here."

The medic watching over Angie made the comment to an officer, the two men approaching Angie to lift her into the wheelchair.

"I'm not leaving without Derek!" she exclaimed, beginning to panic once again.

"You're not – we're going to load him onto the stretcher and he'll be right behind you."

With a cautious eye and one last look back at her fallen surgeon, Angie dropped her shoulders, signifying to the men that she had given in. They approached once again, slowly, positioning her to lift her up just as the cardiac monitor blared a flatline.

"Dammit!" Robert swore under his breath, very carefully helping one of the medics to roll Derek onto his back.

In a flash Derek's shirt was ripped open, the medic positioned to start chest compressions when his arms were pulled away by Hoffman.

"Derek?! DEREK!" Angie screamed, wriggling out of the hold the men had on her. She tried to move forward, the pain from her injured leg sending an excruciating shock through her whole body as she put weight on it again. With a yelp and a whimper she changed positions on the floor, now trying her best to move forward towards him.

"What are you doing?!" the medic yelled at Robert, trying again to start working on Derek.

"You're going to cause more damage if you crank into him like that! We'll have to shock him – there's a crash cart just around this corner… GO!"

An officer went sprinting down the hall as Hoffman began rescue breathing on Derek.

"A shock, are you kidding?" the medic fought, but little did he know that Robert was in no mood for attitudes.

"Right now it's the lesser of two evils with a faster result! You can continue to argue with me whenever I see an M.D. at the end of your name." he bit, rubbing the paddles together as they charged. He placed them on Derek's bare chest, holding the shock for a quick second.

"Now get out of my way…" he sneered to the subordinate, the man backing away quickly as a shock was delivered.

"Nothing – vitals are plummeting!" the female medic yelled, earning an angry stare from Robert as he looked over at Angie.

The other medic and officer approached Angie again, trying to get the hysterical nurse away from the scene

"NO!" she refused, swinging at both men with a closed fist. "No, I won't let you!" she sobbed, kicking with her good leg. Hearing an "Ow!" and feeling a dull pain in her hand Angie realized she had made contact with one of the men trying to pull her away, stalling him only for a brief moment before they began trying to load her in the chair again.

"It's not doing anything doctor! I don't think this is going to work – I think it's…"

"I'll tell you when it's over! It's NOT over yet!" Robert screamed at the medic, making the girl jump back a small distance.

"Come on Derek… Don't do this – I won't let you!"

With those words Hoffman charged up the paddles to a higher voltage as he placed them on his chest and cleared everyone of Derek's body.

"No… NO, NO!" Angie screamed, slapping the men away again as they tried once more to get her away from the scene. "Derek! Derek, ple…"

"You're going to have to call it – I think there's too much damage…"

"Oh my God… NO! No, please.. d-don't give up! PLEASE Dr. Hoffman – DON'T!"

The medic's frequent outbursts were doing nothing to help, now riling up Angie even further in the corner as she continued fighting with the men who were trying to take her away. She was now beyond panicking, hyperventilating in between sobs and screaming at them to save him.

"Will you SHUT UP?! I will NOT call it!"

Robert Hoffman glared fiercely at the medic, realizing that very few times in his life had he lost his temper this badly. It was their fault for being so damn negative all the time – it was obvious none of them had ever experienced a life and death fight like this before, however it was something he had known so well.

"Derek… I l-love… I love you!" Angie stammered out, watching as Robert threw caution to the wind and began manual chest compressions, sending a vindictive stare to the incompetent medics that surrounded him.

"Miss Thompson, your condition is serious. You need to go, NOW!"

Angie glanced at Derek's lifeless body again, watching as compression after compression did nothing to stop the screaming monitor, loudly alerting her to the fact that she was losing him.

"No – I'm… I'm not, leaving! Not until he…"

And before she could finish the rest of that sentence, the last of Angie's strength gave out on her, her unconscious form caught just before impact with the tile by the officer on her right.

While she had tried her best, the fight to stay with him had failed. And though unconscious she was no different than the rest of those outside – all there was left to do was wait.

----------

"Angie…?"

Morose green eyes pulled themselves from their gaze out the window to her right, where a man with a tiny smile was waiting for her with his hand outstretched.

Placing her hand into his and putting the weight on her good leg, Angie helped herself out of the car and into a waiting wheelchair, being held still by good friend Tyler Chase.

"Are you feeling okay?" he asked. "I brought some pain medication just in case."

Angie felt her hand be taken by best friend Leslie, whose other arm was resting in a sling as a result of her own injury as she began to be wheeled along. She continued to gaze forward, eyes resting on one thing as the three walked together.

"No, I'm fine." she said, words devoid of any emotion and barely sounding like the Angie that both Tyler and Leslie knew. All they could do was exchange a sad glance with each other as they wheeled Angie forward, taking a seat next to her as she continually stared forward.

The only thing to pick her gaze up off of the red, white, and blue was when the crowd came to a sudden hush. Turning herself around in her chair slowly, green eyes panned through her surroundings, seeing a staggering amount of people gathered together. On one hand it was comforting to see the outpouring of support they were all receiving during this difficult time, but on the other hand, it did little to calm the feelings of emptiness that panged at Angie everywhere she went.

If there hadn't been a meeting – if they hadn't been teasing them – if she didn't go back to get her stupid thermos… her and Derek would've never been there, and things would most likely be very different right now.

Though those thoughts plagued her mind everywhere she went, Angie couldn't help but feel that if it hadn't have happened when it did, that it would've happened at another time… something that tore at her soul.

Having cried herself stupid the past week, the blonde felt that no tears would come at the funeral. But as the preacher walked towards the podium, the gentle breeze rippling the flag lying over the casket of their hero, tears sprang into Angie's eyes – though she was determined not to let them fall…

"We gather here today to mourn the passing of a doctor, a hero, and a friend…"

…But with those words Angie lost the battle with her emotions, beginning to lightly cry as Leslie pulled her close, huddling together.

Words were said by few, but the speech that made Angie lose all control of herself was watching Greg Kasal speak. A reserved, strong, unshakable man was instantly transformed into a fit of sobs, trying desperately to gain control over himself as he poured out feelings of admiration and respect to the crowd, each and every one of them mirroring his emotions, but none besides those in the inner circle feeling a broken heart like the ones that the Caduceus and Hope staffs felt.

"…and even though there was no extensive combat or wartime involved, I think we can all agree that here before us… lies, an American hero."

Greg barely choked out the end of his speech as he stumbled back over to his seat next to Sidney, whose tears were falling freely as well. The brothers comforted each other as the flag was folded up, an officer walking it over to a sobbing woman in the front row. Angie watched with a heavy heart as an unidentified man next to her tried his best to console her, his motions doing nothing to ease her painful cries.

Other military officers stepped in line to ready for the gun salute as the bugle began to play taps.

With every passing note and every command, cock, and fire, Angie swore in that moment she would give anything to have Derek here by her side, the mere thought of it launching her into another round of sobs so painful she felt as though her heart was literally going to break in two.

Tyler planted a small kiss on Leslie's cheek, wiping away her tears before dotting his own eyes with a Kleenex. Victor's head was hung miserably, his eyes shining and refusing to look up at the sight. Greg, Sidney and Dr. Hoffman were all seated in a row, the men losing the battle with their emotions, tears falling freely one after the other.

In mere minutes the crowd began to file through, each dumping a red rose into the hole which now held the body of the one they all had held so dear…

And while everyone said their last goodbye, Victor, Robert, Leslie, Tyler, Greg, Sidney, and Angie stayed put, the seven seated together holding hands in the front row of chairs, watching as eventually, the crowd dwindled away to nothing.

The seven were the only people left in the cemetery, save for a man ready to fill in the hole, signifying the last time any of them would be this close to their fallen friend, ever again.

And still holding hands, Robert, Sidney, Greg, Leslie, Victor, and Tyler all rose to their feet, the blonde surgeon's free hand holding onto Angie's wheelchair to help push her forward.

"Ready?" Sidney asked, wiping a tear from his cheek.

The rest of the friends paused momentarily, clearing their own tears and sniffling before a collective nod was shared.

And in the setting sun, seven walked forward together to say a painful goodbye, leaning on each other for strength that had left them all the day they were forced to deal with the news.

One by one, seven red roses fell into the hole on top of the black casket, each a silent goodbye.

To a coworker…

A doctor…

A lover…

A friend…

And an American Hero…

Cybil Myers.

* * *

**So this is where I explain why you all must hate me:**

**1) Whoever really likes Cybil.  
2) Those of you that are still itching to know what happened to Derek.**

**Show of hands - who thought it was Derek that died? (raises hand)**

**Will our favorite staff be in attendance for another funeral? **

**You'll find out, I promise.**

**...next chapter. (I'm so sorry please don't hurt meeee!) **


	11. Soulmates

**Hey guys!**

**So, I left the last chapter with a pretty depressing ending. I apologize. But, this is a depressing story... so, I can't really help ya there :D**

**This actually skips back to before Cybil's funeral, when everyone was back at the hospital. So this chapter, you'll find out what happens to Derek.**

**... well, kind of. Mwahaha.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

To say lives had been uprooted would be the understatement of the century.

The halls of Caduceus, once busy with friends and coworkers sharing memories, laughs, and curing the impossible, were now empty. Eerie silence filled them instead, only broken by the sound of investigators coming and going to get more information from the scene.

Those halls had been where the most harrowing event in Angeles Bay had taken place since the outbreak of GUILT. And unfortunately for the six involved, this crisis hadn't had a happy ending in the least.

Yes, be it as it may, Caduceus was empty, the last people to exit the heroic doctor and his nurse, brought out respectively in a stretcher and in the arms of an officer. Neither had woken up since that time – one was simply unconscious while the other was slipping closer and closer to death every minute.

Since she was transported there was no word on Cybil's condition either, adding to the burden of unanswered questions being asked by those who knew and loved them the most.

Friends that would normally be cracking jokes about Caduceus's ugly hallways during their daily routines were now plagued with nightmares of their experience at the hospital, making the waiting even more unbearable. Once scattered throughout the famed medical facility at any point through the day, a staff found themselves littered through a hospital once more – though it was not their own, and it was no fun.

Tyler Chase sat next to Leslie Sears in the waiting room of the OR, her head resting on his shoulder. Her arm had already been treated and was now bandaged and resting gently in a sling. Tears intermittently rolled down her face as Tyler stroked her hair softly, his cheek resting against the top of her head. His eyes shone with tears as well, but he did his best to pull himself together, keeping an optimistic attitude in the worst of times.

Victor Niguel couldn't take sitting in one place. He made loop after loop around the emergency wing, unable to remember the last time he was in a hospital for something other than work.

Robert had been brought in to help with Cybil's surgery, as Greg helped work on Derek. In Greg's current state he had not been allowed to take the reins on Derek's surgery, instead acting as an advisor to the chief surgeon from Trinity Hospital, who had been called in to help. As he repeatedly brought his gaze back to stare at Derek's pale face, he realized how unnerving it was – finally understanding just why Derek couldn't tear himself completely away when he had to save Greg's life.

Sidney was still back at the scene with the police and SWAT team, going over last minute statements and escorting them through the building. The atmosphere inside was almost too much for him to take, his nerves getting the best of him. As they ascended to the floor where it had all taken place, Sidney had vomited into a nearby trash can several times, the sight of bullet holes in the drywall and splatters of blood painting a picture of the hell his six brightest employees had faced. Once he settled down he had a thought, clearing it with an officer before he did it.

Reaching down into the grate onto the floor, Sidney pulled Tyler's blackberry from inside and stared at it. The call timer had been run up to nearly four hours, still ticking away every second. With a deep breath and a heavy heart, Sidney pressed a button, ending the call. A silence filled the air as the nearby officers watched Sidney drop his arms to his sides sadly, shaking his head as he looked down. It was over – and now began the aftermath.

And last of all, Angie Thompson laid in her hospital bed, leg bandaged up after the surgery that had just been completed on it. She was still asleep, the trauma of everything that day forcing her into a slumber that extended far past the effects of her anesthesia. She breathed in and out gently, looking peaceful on the outside… but on the inside, images of her and Derek played like a silent film in her mind, inevitably coming to the same ending over and over again. Something inside her fought for her to wake up, but it would do her no good – her deepest nightmare had become her darkest reality.

It was true – they were all scattered. Friends of the fallen all tried to cope in their own ways, holding out optimism in the increasingly bleak situation. But while they were in different physical places, their hearts were all together, hoping that it would find a way to work out.

--

"I love you…"

Leslie cocked her head up to look at her boyfriend, tears still in her eyes. "What did you say?" she questioned.

"I said I love you, Les…" he said, kissing her on the forehead. They had never exchanged the phrase before, and while it wasn't the most romantic moment in the world, Leslie felt the sincerity in his tone and smiled softly, kissing his lips.

"I love you too…" she said, resting her head back onto his shoulder with a sign. "Why… why did this have to happen?"

Tyler felt his eyes water again, hugging her tightly to offset it. "I don't know honey… I don't know…"

--

As Angie came ever closer to consciousness once again, the visions clouding her mind became more and more vivid, tormenting her in her sleep. Though she squirmed fitfully she was unable to bring herself to open her eyes, her body holding her halfway between the relaxing unconsciousness she sought and the hell that was her conscious life.

_Feeling that she had squeezed her eyes tightly shut, Angie was surprised when she heard someone gently chuckle, the laugh familiar to her. With great hesitance she blinked open her eyes, noticing that it was Derek laughing. Thinking for a moment she placed them in her bedroom next to her bed, noting that she was in his arms, her body resting against him. It all flooded back after that, her mind looking at Derek and noticing the bump on his forehead he had from his "fight" with her nightstand._

_But this time instead of jumping to her feet like she did in reality, she allowed herself to stay there, trading a loving smile with him as she felt him pull her closer. Leaning forward slowly Angie closed in on Derek's lips, seeing that he was smiling at the action. _

_  
Eyes closed and mouth slightly open she prepared herself to share a much-anticipated moment with her surgeon, until..._

_BANG!_

The sudden change in scenery prompted Angie to jerk in her bed, her body absorbing the pain she felt from moving her bad leg but refusing to wake her up just yet.

_And just like that she was back on the floor of Caduceus, leg bleeding out as she cried hopelessly, looking at Derek's warm gaze, who was just trying to convince her that everything would be okay – after that is, he had just seemingly sacrificed his life so she would leave unharmed._

_Stare still locked with his, warm smile upon his face, Angie relapsed again into another memory._

_Sitting in a chair racked with guilt, Derek looked over at her with a small smile, his elbows resting on his knees, hands clasped together._

"_Are you sure you don't want to wait for another day? I mean, I understand..." she heard herself say, quickly tracing the moment back to after the operation that had snowballed this whole situation._

_Derek just shook his head, his smile unrelenting. He turned to look at her again, his stare soft and loving._

"_I think after all that's happened today, I need to spend time with someone that makes me happy..." he said gently, his smile growing._

_And suddenly the smile was gone, the loving vision disappearing along with it. Instead it was replaced with the mental image of Derek slumping to the floor, his wretched scream ceasing before he hit the tile, body still._

"…No…" Angie groaned gently, thrashing about in her sleep again. "No…"

_But still her body refused to give her a break, even after all that had happened. Even when she was awake she knew it would torment her, which is why she was desperate to have a plane to retreat to... though it would not be in her sleep._

_Again and again Angie relived every time he smiled at her, the times they had laughed so hard they nearly cried, the times they had shared real tears... the way he swept her into his arms when she felt like the world was against her, and the way he reassured her time and time again that he would never leave her side._

_His cute chuckle, his slight laziness, his cute whine, his kind heart... his determination, his brilliant mind, his skilled hands... his general loving nature and optimistic attitude..._

"_I'm in here... because I love her..."_

"Derek…"

"_Let her go –"_

"…I… love you…"

"_... and you can kill me."_

"Unngh…"

_BANG!_

"NO!"

Sobbing uncontrollably Angie's body finally pulled her out of the torture she was feeling, though she didn't feel very comforted by that fact. Sitting up in her hospital bed in a cold sweat she cried hopelessly into her hands, ready to give anything to have Derek hold her and calm her like he had so many times in the past.

But he wasn't there. At the moment he was just a figment of her mind, the memories a placeholder for the one she loved so dearly.

Absolutely beside herself Angie reached over and pressed the call button. If he couldn't be there to help her, she needed someone.

--

"We need a nurse – that's Miss Thompson's room!"

Leslie and Tyler heard the cry from the attendant at the nurses station, one of the head nurses walking over to investigate.

"Go." Leslie ordered, pulling herself off of him. "She needs someone she knows, not a stranger… go."

Tyler nodded and jumped to his feet, walking briskly to the nurses station where he spoke briefly with the nurse. It didn't take much convincing and soon Tyler was sprinting down the hall toward Angie's room.

And in what seemed like his millionth loop, Victor stopped in the waiting room to see Leslie seated by herself. Scratching his head briefly he walked over and plopped down in the chair next to her, finding himself to be uncharacteristically caring and not giving a damn about it.

"How're ya feeling?" he asked Leslie quietly, looking over at her.

She tentatively returned his gaze and smiled a small smile, nodding her head. "I'm doing alright – how are you holding up?"

"I'm okay." he replied, allowing himself to remember how nice Leslie always was.

Just then he sighed and let out a small laugh, leaning forward to rest his elbows against his knees.

"Yeah, that's a lie – I'm a mess." he admitted, feeling her good hand rest on his back and rub up and down slowly, comforting him greatly.

"Me too… I know I have to stay optimistic, but I just can't help but wonder… and it scares me…" she said bluntly, feeling her eyes water again.

After a few more strokes across his back she was done, but it had done him a world of good, bringing the both of them a little more calm in the middle of this storm. And just as their bonding moment ended, Sidney walked in the front door of the hospital, scanning it over until he found the two of them, walking over and taking a seat.

--

The door to Angie's room opened slowly and before Tyler even looked inside, he could hear pained sobs coming from her bed, the sound dropping his heart even further into his stomach – a place from which it had not risen all day.

"Hey… Hey Ang, it's alright…" he cooed, walking into the room and taking a seat on the edge of her bed. Instinctively she threw herself into his arms, sobbing into his chest as he tried his hardest to fight back his own impending set of tears, inevitably failing. He held across her back with one hand, his other holding her head on his shoulder as he gently rocked back and forth, shushing her as she continued to cry until her body started to lose strength, eventually flopping back against her bed.

"T-Tyler…" she sobbed, taking in shuttering breaths as she nearly hyperventilated. "P-Please… please, j-just tell me that D-Derek is…"

She stopped herself before the end of the sentence, another round of sobs cutting her off.

Tyler sighed gently, moving himself to sit next to her. He swung his right leg up onto the bed and left his left hanging over the edge, scooting closer to her. Raising his arm up in the air he moved it until it was resting across her shoulders, pulling her into him closely. She obliged and wrapped her arm across his stomach, holding onto him for dear life – she was thankful in this moment to have someone like him to watch over her… someone who reminded her so much of Derek.

"Angie…" he started, gently brushing the fingers of the arm across her shoulders through the ends of her hair. "You need to relax and stay positive, alright?"

He felt her nod, her sobs slowing by the minute.

"…We don't know how he is, Ang. He's still in surgery right now."

"But… But, it's been hours!" she exclaimed, beginning to cry again.

Tyler just shushed her again gently, planting a gentle protective kiss on the top of her head. "Angie… remember how many hours you were in surgery with your father? That was just for his heart. There's probably more than one area they're working on…"

Angie sighed. "You're right, I'm sorry for freaking out…"

"Hey…" he said sternly, sitting up to get a look at her. "You don't have to be sorry for that – I know how it is with you two… I'm so proud at how you're holding together Angie. I don't know how you do it, frankly…"

"I know… but this is all my fault – if I wouldn't have gone back for my stupid thermos…"

"Stop Angie." he said firmly. "Just stop right there – NONE of this is your fault in any way. It didn't matter what happened… that guy wanted revenge one way or another – it was his fault, none of ours. Don't ever think that… please."

He laid back against the bed and hugged tightly around her shoulders, feeling her rest her head back against him.

"What now?" she shakily asked, hearing him taking a deep breath.

"Well…" he started, racking his brain for an appropriate answer. "You've gotta rely on love…"

The blonde furrowed her forehead in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Tyler exhaled, reaching his free hand to brush through his long hair.

"All teasing aside Ang… do you love him?"

Angie paused for a moment, a tear rolling down her cheek.

"More than anything… I never got to tell him though…" she mused sadly, averting her gaze out the window at the nearly-set sun.

"You will. You'll get to tell him – he's not going to give up on us Angie… he won't…" he reassured her, trying to convince himself of the same fact.

"How do you know?" she asked.

Tyler bit his lip, knowing that in this circumstance, Derek would've wanted her to know.

"I've known Derek for quite awhile… and through that time I've seen him truly passionate about two things. The first is wiping the word "incurable" off the face of the earth, one seemingly hopeless patient at a time."

In his pause, Angie spoke up. "And what's the second?"

The surgeon sighed with a small chuckle. "You."

Her eyes shot open, cocking her head up to look at him. "What…?" she asked quietly, tears collecting in her eyes again.

"From the moment that you two arrived at Caduceus, I could interpret that look on his face a mile away – he's absolutely enamored by you Ang… he hangs on your every word, would do anything to see you smile… would even give up his _life_ to protect you from harm…"

Angie started to gently cry again, feeling Tyler hug her tightly once more.

"I know he would kill me if he was awake, but I also know that he'd want you to know how much you mean to him… how many times I've talked to him when he's been in some pretty deep pits – you're the thing that keeps him going Ang… you always have been… he loves you."

Angie took great comfort in his words, but now it made her wish all that much more that she could be with Derek.

"You guys have a bond unlike one I've ever seen – and I know I tease you a lot, but it's true… you're soulmates. And right now, your soulmate is depending on you… your love and support is going to be what pulls him through this."

Angie smiled a tiny smile, hugging Tyler around his stomach. She cocked her head up and planted a gentle kiss on his cheek – he had always been like a big brother to her… teasing her one minute, putting back the pieces of her broken heart the next.

"Thank you Tyler…" she whispered, leaning back against him for support.

Just then the door clicked open gently and Leslie walked in, smiling at the sight of Tyler comforting Angie as best he could. While he could be immature, childish, and annoying sometimes, he would do anything for those he loved, the big heart of his her favorite thing about him.

"Hey Ang…" she said softly, walking into the room, followed by Victor. Leslie walked to the other side of Angie's bed and sat down next to her, trading a hug with the blonde. Victor positioned himself next to the door, opening it when Sidney knocked from outside.

"Hello Angie…" he said meekly, closing the door behind him.

"Hi Chief." she replied, forcing a small smile.

Sidney stuck his hands in his pockets and looked at the floor and then back up at the three situated on the bed, also centering his comment to Victor.

"Words cannot express how sorry I am for all you've experienced here today…" Sidney said gently. "Though I commend you all – you handled yourselves with the utmost integrity and bravery… I'm so proud to have you as my staff, and so relieved that you're all still here with us…"

The four traded a small smile at the commendation – Sidney rarely showed emotion like this.

"Thanks Chief…" Tyler said, stopping when another knock was heard at the door. Sidney turned around and opened it to reveal Robert, who stepped gently in the room and closed the door behind him. Everyone sat up and looked at him intently, knowing that he most likely came bearing news.

"Wait…"

Everyone turned to look at Angie at her request, her gaze fixed on Dr. Hoffman.

"I passed out today, Doctor… I never got a chance to thank you... for, what you did today. You could've thrown it in but you didn't – you kept fighting… and that's the reason that Derek is still alive right now."

Robert smirked slightly. "I appreciate it Angie… and no thanks is necessary…"

It was in trading stares with him that Angie noticed his eyes were pooled with unfallen tears, his expression incredibly worn out.

"But unfortunately… I come here to deliver some… some tragic news…" he stammered out, his voice shaking. He was a far cry from his usual polished, strong self, which showed his staff that what he was about to say was going to change their lives forever.

"We've been in surgery for hours now with both Derek and Cybil, trying to repair the damage that was done… it's been very extensive so far, and unfortunately in one, too extensive for us to fix…"

Tears began falling from every face in the room as Robert took a big breath in, exhaling with a shudder.

"We lost her…" he finally said, hearing a chorus of pained cries from everyone as they reacted to the news. Angie and Leslie leaned into each other, each woman instantly breaking into sobs as Tyler just sat there dumbfounded, tears rolling down his face. Sidney let out a deep sigh, trying to calm himself before he lost his composure – the worst pain of all was knowing that he was going to have to be the one to tell Greg that the woman he had loved was never coming back…

"…Cybil?" Victor asked shakily, his eyes wide with disbelief. She had done so much for them at Caduceus that day – her actions were probably the reason that things had not turned out worse for everyone.

Robert nodded. "We tried everything we could think of… the bullet took out several organs though – and from there, her body just… shut down…"

Victor bit his lip so hard he nearly draw blood from it, emotions running so strong through his body that he could barely breathe. He quickly darted from the room in search of some fresh air, the door slamming behind him with a loud bang.

Hope had failed them once. The question was – would it redeem itself, or completely destroy them all?

--

Two hours later Angie, Tyler, and Leslie had passed out, emotionally drained from the terrible news. Robert and Sidney sat conversing quietly in the corner, seated next to Tyler and Leslie, who were slumped over in sleep on the bench in front of Angie's window.

And back outside Victor was taking another one of his laps, numb to his previous state of blind emotional ruin the more he walked, forcing him to take his mind off of things.

Rounding the corner to the waiting room for now the _twenty_ millionth time that day, he stopped short as he saw Greg Kasal walk out of the OR, shaking hands with who Victor recognized to be the chief of surgery from Trinity… an impressive surgeon.

And as the men stood outside and conversed Greg's attention caught Victor, excusing himself from his conversation.

"Dr. Kasal…" Victor said, outstretching his hand.

"Dr. Niguel…" Greg returned, a faint smile on his lips.

Victor gulped. "Is… is Derek…?"

Greg smiled and sighed with relief. "…We made it – he's alright."

Victor sighed, allowing a happy chuckle to escape him. "Hang on, I gotta spread the news…" he said, moving to run away.

"Oh wait – will you tell Sidney I'd like to speak with him please?" Greg asked, a hopeful glint in his eyes.

The researcher felt his stomach knot itself again as he hesitated, nodding eventually. "Sure, I'll be right back…"

Breaking into a small run Victor ran back to Angie's room, busting through the door loudly and out of breath.

"Wake UP!" he snapped, loudly rousing them all from their slumber.

"…SHUT up!" Tyler groaned. "You're SO loud…" he grumbled, rubbing his eyes.

"It's Derek, you idiot!" Victor snapped, watching as Angie's body spring up and into a sitting position, Tyler and Leslie waking completely up as well. Sidney and Robert rose to their feet.

"Well…?" Sidney asked, hands on his hips nervously.

Victor smirked. "He's alive…"

Angie's hands clasped over her face in surprise, a smile gracing her opened mouth. "WHAT?!" she shrieked happily, looking over at Tyler and Leslie who traded a surprised smile with her.

"They just finished surgery… he's okay." Victor exclaimed, seeing an instant rejoicing from people who had been put through so much pain.

But then, Victor's expression immediately turned serious as he looked at Sidney, the chief's smile fading as well.

"Greg's waiting for you outside – he has no idea." he whispered, filling the mood with a somber tone once again.

Sidney just nodded, quietly removing himself from the room. And with the door slightly opened, Victor watched as Sidney explained the situation to Greg, watching the surgeon crumple to the floor in a heap of sobs, leaning into his brother for support. He closed the door at the sight, it reminding him of what they had lost that day.

"I'm going to go get a status on Derek…" Robert said, exiting the room as well.

And with relief, the remaining four relaxed, waiting to see their friend open his eyes for another day.

Though they still had to bury someone dear to them, the Caduceus crew took some solace in knowing that they weren't going to have to do it twice – that was a hope that kept them all from breaking down completely.

…but as it turned out, the hope they felt turned out to be false in nature once again, falling through on them before they ever saw it coming.

* * *

**It's things like this that make me surprised I haven't been pitchforked or something ridiculous yet. But if I didn't leave you with a cliffie, it wouldn't make you eager to read the next chapter so much, now would it?**

**So yeah, we're not out of the woods yet - Honestly, this is all because I still haven't made my decision on Derek yet, if you want the truth. I suck. (le sob)**

**I love this story too much - can't give up on it yet. Especially when I get to write totally cute scenes with Tyler and Angie... (aw)**

**See you next chapter! **


	12. Waiting

**Oh, wow. This chapter, is long. I am so very sorry :(**

**In my defense though, it is a very important chapter. This is the much-anticipated "everyone finds out what happens to Derek" chapter.**

**Oh, and you should know - this is not even close to being medically accurate. So, don't point that out, cause I already know :D (is pile of suck)**

**I'm honestly going to say no more, because you can all read it for yourself. I like some scenes in here but I'm overall extremely disappointed with the way this turned out... if you see it pulled down in a couple days it'll be because I rewrote it. The time frame is pretty broad - this particular chapter extends over a period of two months, so that's why the transitions may suck a whole lot of ass. **

**And, if you didn't think it sucked completely, please let me know and give me an ego boost?**

**Its 3 pm and I haven't been to bed yet. Oh, and nobody answered my frantic call for a last minute beta, so sorry about any errors!**

**Alright guys - take a deep breath... here we go!**

* * *

Sleep is something irreplaceable – something that can do so much for a living being, with so little effort.

For Leslie, it diminished the pain in her arm greatly, allowing her to be able to sleep peacefully, curled up in her boyfriend's arms.

For Victor, sleep numbed the pain of losing one so close – a pain that would've been unbearable had he still been conscious.

And for Tyler, it passed time more quickly than the conscious world could, leaving him that much closer to be able to see his best friend again.

It was too bad, however, that some couldn't enjoy all that sleep had to offer.

Staring blankly around her room since her friends had fallen asleep and Sidney and Robert had left, Angie found herself unable to even close her eyes. Half of her burned with the pain she felt, knowing that she would never see or be able to talk to Cybil again. The moment the Iron Vixen had been shot refused to leave her, sure to be something among other moments, that she wouldn't forget any time soon.

The other half of her was beyond anxious, waiting until the moment she would be able to see Derek again. She knew that he would most likely not be awake yet, but seeing his face – seeing him alive – was something that would bring her great relief.

Looking to her right she stared at Tyler and Leslie, sleeping together on the windowseat. His back was against the wall, knees bent, feet planted onto the cushion. She was laying on her side curled into his body with his arms around her, head rested on his chest as the two of them breathed in and out in sync. The sight brought a small smile from Angie before it faded into a frown, wishing to be in that same position with Derek.

"_Derek_..."

Scanning over further, she noticed Victor in a reclining chair, fast asleep, yet looking as though he wasn't enjoying it much. His face was slightly illuminated by the moon outside, the only light that remained in the once sunny sky. As she looked at him she realized how devastated he must have been at that exact moment – Cybil was one of his mentors, the first one to take him under her wing as he struggled to adjust to the fast pace and pressure of Caduceus. More importantly, she was the only one that no matter what happened, saw right through Victor and refused to take his crap – something that had won his respect from day one.

While they had all been sleeping, she had been in her room, alone. No new news on Derek's condition, no nurses in or out… alone.

And tired of the loneliness she felt, Angie decided that she was going to get to Derek one way or another – she promised herself that she would be there when he opened his eyes, and found that she would be unable to make good on that promise nearly half a hospital away.

Reaching up next to her bed, Angie grabbed her I.V. bag and gently removed it from the hook at the top of the tall pole, laying it on the bed for the time being. With caution, she reached around to the base of the pole and unscrewed it, pulling it from its holder and into her hands, where she laid it on her lap and lengthened it as far as it would go. She repositioned herself on her bed and with a slightly unsteady hand, reached the pole out to the left of her bed, trying to fetch the wheelchair that waited there.

"Come on…" she whispered, seeing the hook at the top of the pole work itself around one of the wheel spokes. Giving it a slight tug she groaned unhappily, realizing that the brakes were locked as she continually rattled the pole against the metal. Little by little she scooted it closer, never seeing a certain black-haired man open his eyes in her commotion.

"Dammit…!" she said a little louder, nearly falling out of bed when a voice called out to her.

"Angie…?"

The nurse felt her cheeks heat up as she slowly turned her gaze over to Victor, who was rubbing the side of his tired, worn out face as he looked at her with confusion.

"Oh, Victor… I'm sorry, I… didn't want to wake anyone…" she whispered, lowering her eyes to the bed.

"…Well maybe don't make a racket next time, and you won't…"

Angie couldn't help but smirk slightly, eyes meeting his for a second and then diverting back to her chair-getting contraption. "I'm sorry…"

"…S'alright…" he replied, stretching his arms. "…It's not like I was getting good sleep anyway…"

And just then his expression changed, from sadness as he remembered why he wasn't sleeping well, to confusion as he looked at the blonde.

"What the hell are you doing?" he asked, rising shakily from his chair.

Angie's eyes looked down again, still firmly holding onto the I.V. pole. "I…I-I wanted to see D-Derek…" she stammered, voice barely a whisper. "I want to be there when he wakes up…"

Jamming his hands into his pockets, Victor paced slowly towards her, his face stoic.

"He's probably not going to wake up any time soon, you know…" he remarked, seeing her eyes turn dejected. Though the hurt he was feeling was strong he'd never admit it, using his sarcastic, cocky exterior to hide everything that reminded those closest to him that he was human. But as he looked on at Angie and realized that he could help give her the smallest bit of happiness during this messed up day, he dropped the act and removed his hands from his pockets, taking the pole from her hands and moving it aside.

"I'm probably going to get my ass chewed for this…" he muttered, bending down and moving one of the stirrups on the chair up so that Angie's leg could rest properly. Shaking his long hair out of his eyes Victor scooted the chair closer to her bed, moving it slightly off to the side.

"Alright, come here…" he whispered, watching as she pulled the blankets off of herself. In the meantime he picked up the I.V. bag from her bed and affixed it to the pole on the wheelchair, turning around after to face her. She was sitting on the edge of her bed with an uncomfortable expression on her face, leaning to one side to favor her injured leg. Stepping towards her shakily, Victor reached around her back and grabbed tightly, preparing to lift her when he felt a calming warmth lance through his body – one he hadn't felt in a long time.

Angie's hands came to rest around his back as well, tightening her hold, yet not for support. She gently rested her head against his, taking in a shuttering breath as she hugged him, making him even more skittish than usual.

"Thank you…" she whispered into his ear, the faintest of smiles coming to rest on his lips as he briefly returned the hug, her action the comfort he had needed desperately through the trying day. He cleared his throat quickly, and realizing that his vulnerability was showing, changed his hold back to professional, simply trying to help her up. Though as he readied himself to lift Victor allowed the small smile to remain, knowing that his secret would be safe with her.

"You ready…?" he asked, gently lifting her to her feet at her affirmation. With a slow spin around he lowered her into the chair, cautiously helping her raise her hurt leg up and into the stirrup. Seeing a small shiver overtake her, he turned back around and grabbed the top blanket from her bed, lightly draping it over her body. Pale hands reached down and unlocked both sides of the chair, wheeling her off and out of the room.

Hands fidgeting with themselves, Angie grew nervous, unsure of how she would react to the sight of Derek. It scared her to think of him lying all alone in a room, hooked up to life support – the same way it scared her in Europe. She shivered at the thought just as Victor turned the corner and his room came into sight – a single brown door straight at the end of the hallway.

Reaching the door the pair stopped and paused for a moment before Victor reached his hand out and pushed the door open, swinging the sight of their fallen surgeon into view.

"Derek…" Angie whispered, seeing the outline of his form in the slightly darkened room. A lamp at his bedside and the LED lights from the array of monitors connected to him were the only things cutting through the dark of night, casting small shadows onto his motionless body. As Victor slowly wheeled her forward she got a better sight, her heart skipping with happiness to see him again.

Wheeling her to the side of his bed, Victor stopped and locked her chair, moving slowly to the end of Derek's bed where he took his chart into his hands and looked it over, letting out a small whistle.

"What…?" Angie asked quietly, turning her attention to him briefly, and then back to Derek as Victor began reading.

"I'm just reading the post-op briefing…" he said with a sigh, impressed at its contents. "Patient is a 27 year old male suffering a GSW to the lower right of his back…" he started, skimming through the medical mumbo-jumbo and the less important parts. "Ah, here we go… says here that when the bullet entered him it hit his right kidney, part of his colon, took out a large portion of his small intestine and nicked an artery… all in all he coded twice and lost 12 liters of blood..."

Angie's body stiffened as she fought back coming tears, biting her lip hard. "I-I… I thought bullets j-just traveled i-in, straight l-lines…"

"You would think…" he replied, gently placing the chart back where it belonged. "But that's a common misconception… it bounces around just like anything else – it can go anywhere… and apparently, it tried to…" he finished, seeing that Angie was quickly losing the battle with her tears. Victor quickly became uncomfortable, turning to remove himself from the room when another occupant burst in.

"Miss Thompson!" the attending nurse cried, lowering her voice quickly after her outburst. "Thank God – we were worried sick!"

Angie looked at Victor for help as the woman walked towards her and unlocked her chair, readying to push her from the room.

"N-No!" Angie hissed, planting her good foot on the ground.

"I'm sorry Miss Thompson, but you have to – you're not supposed to be out of your room." she said, pushing forward even with the resistance that Angie offered.

"Stop!"

Victor's voice silenced both nurses, his dark eyes boring holes into the woman holding Angie's chair.

"You listen to me…" he started, pacing towards her with a dangerous stare, his eyes nearly on fire. "When you get held up for an entire day with a gun pointed at your face… when you're beaten, shot at, tortured and toyed with… when you watch someone you love _die_… or when you get shot yourself…" he sneered, the nurse slinking back as he grew ever closer. "…then you can tell us what to do. But until then, I will take Angie back to her room when she is finished here, and you will get the hell out. Do I _MAKE_ myself clear?" Victor finished, his voice rising into a slight yell to drive the point home.

And with a silent nod, the nurse rolled Angie back to Derek's bedside, quickly removing herself from the room.

"That felt soo good…" Victor breathed, rubbing his face with his hand.

"And people say your scariness is a bad thing…" Angie joked, a faint smirk resting on her lips.

"Heh, yeah…" Victor returned, moving towards the door. "I'll be back in 20 to take you back."

And as the door clicked shut Angie was left in the silence, the only company the sound of her thoughts, the beeping of the monitors, and the gentle whooshing that came from the respirator – the machine that had taken the place of Derek's breaths.

"Derek…" she whispered again with a warm yet faint smile, looking him over. Sitting up a little bit his head drooped just slightly towards her, eyes closed and void of their spectacles. His brown hair was swept away from his forehead, exposing the gash he had acquired earlier, now bandaged up and out of sight.

In a move completely driven by habit, Angie turned her head to the side and gazed at the monitors, frowning slightly. His vitals were rebounding nicely, though as she looked at his neurological monitor she couldn't help but grow scared, noting that they had labeled him as being in a moderate coma – a 9 on the Glasgow Coma Scale.

Forcing herself to take a deep breath, Angie thought over her training, realizing that it was most likely due to the amount of anesthetic that they had pumped into him during his surgery, and the amount of blood loss he had sustained. With another sigh she forced herself to turn away from the monitors, realizing that her professional experience was going to do nothing more than cause her to expect the worst.

Victor had positioned her chair directly next to the bed so she could turn sideways to see Derek, not having to worry about reaching over or bumping her leg by accident. So the blonde did just that, leaning her head against the mattress right next to his shoulder. She turned her green eyes up at him as her shaking hand crept toward his, her tremors stilled only when their skin made contact. The warmth in his skin crept into her hand and through her body, causing a thankful sigh to escape her lips – he was alive. With her, here, now. Alive.

"Oh Derek…" she whispered, moving her face closer until it rested against his arm, looking up at him. "You scared me…"

Her eyes closed gently, her hand rubbing over the top of his, eventually deciding to just hold it instead. "…you scared me…"

"I don't have much time… if I could I would sleep right here…" she continued, straying from her topic as she stared down at their clasped hands. "…we made it Derek. We could've given up, we could've let him take us down… but we didn't – we made it. And it's all because of you… y-you saved my life…"

Calm words gave way to stuttering as memories flashed through Angie's mind, causing her heart so much pain she contemplated ripping it from her chest.

"The w-worst is over, D-Derek, though we just found out that C-Cybil…"

She stopped herself. Something so heavy needed to wait for when he was awake to hear it.

Blinking her eyes open Angie turned her head up, looking Derek in the face. On her second thought, everything she had to say to him should wait for when he was awake, able to hear it, able to speak back to her.

"D-Derek… I'm just glad you're still here…" she went on, gripping his hand tightly. "There are so many things I can't wait to say to you… b-but they can wait until… until you wake up… until I can look you in the eyes and say them…"

Lowering her head into a more comfortable position, Angie nuzzled Derek's arm again, closing her eyes as she rested against his skin. "…until then, just… don't give up. P-Please…"

And the peaceful sleep that had eluded her all day finally came, nightmare-free, as she rested against Derek, waiting by his side until the moment he decided to open his eyes. It was true – they had been through the fight of their lives that day.

But for Derek, the fight had just begun.

--

After the devastating afternoon that was Cybil Myer's funeral, Tyler and Leslie returned Angie to Hope Hospital, the nurse immediately insistent on seeing Derek again, her tears never stopping since the funeral had begun. After losing someone so close to them the three agreed that it would be good to go see Derek together, hoping that by now, he had managed to open his eyes.

Tyler wheeled Angie into Derek's room followed closely by Leslie, the unconscious surgeon a sight that the three had become quite used to.

"Whoa, whoa Derek… don't talk so fast, I can barely understand you…" Tyler joked, hearing Angie let out a small giggle. He made some sort of joke to his best friend every time they entered the room, but inside, he was really beginning to wonder if he would ever wake up.

As Angie sat next to Derek's bed and Leslie leaned against the wall, Tyler grabbed his chart and looked it over, taking a big gulp – he had dropped from 9 to 8 on the GCS, his coma now labeled as severe. Hiding his worrisome expression quickly Tyler donned a half smile and replaced the chart, all before Angie noticed.

"We're going to leave you alone for awhile… just page the nurse's station when you're ready to go, alright?" he said, smiling as she thanked him. The door clicked shut behind him and Leslie, and once again, Angie and Derek were alone.

"Hi Derek…" she started, grabbing his hand just like every other time. "Today was Cybil's funeral… it was… well, it was rough… very VERY rough… I'm sorry you had to miss it…"

Earlier in the week Angie had told unconscious Derek what had happened to Cybil, not surprisingly seeing no reaction to the news that had torn the rest of the Caduceus staff apart.

"…But, I saw a lot of people there that told me to tell you they're praying for you, thinking about you all the time… everyone's waiting for you to wake up Derek, we all miss you…"

Being as cautious as ever Angie rose out of her chair, balancing herself on her good leg. She reached forward and flipped the small metal switch on the side of the bed up, lowering the railing to his bed. Moving slowly she turned around and sat on the edge of the bed, swinging her legs up carefully until she was lying next to him, replacing the railing as soon as she was situated. On her side she curled up next to him, just content with staring at him as her fingers rose up and straightened his hair, gently grazing his face on the way there.

"Heh, looks like if you don't wake up I'm going to have to shave you – don't want you turning into a yeti…" she joked, tracing her fingers through his hair lightly as her smile dropped.

"Derek, what's happening…? Why aren't you waking up?" she asked gingerly, feeling her eyes quickly fill with tears again. No response was given, just like always, though this time, it seemed to hit her harder.

"I know that you lost a lot of blood, that your body sustained a lot of trauma… but, they were able to fix everything that the bullet hit…"

Angie stopped and thought for a moment. "Well, you did hit the ground pretty hard – they said you suffered a big blow… and your forehead…" she continued, lightly tracing the bandage on his head with her fingers.

"…but still… Derek, come on…" she pleaded, receiving nothing yet again.

And with a sigh she simply laid back down and fell asleep, curled up next to him.

--

Even though it never seemed like it would, time passed for the four coworkers and friends, their lives becoming more and more regular by the day. Two and a half weeks had gone by since the ordeal – and though they had been through hell and back, nothing could've prepared them all for what had brought them all together again.

"I don't think I can do this…"

Leslie's blunt confession was met with silence as her, Tyler, Angie, and Victor all stood in the side parking lot to Caduceus, looking up at the building with great anxiety. It was the first time that they returned to the facility since being held as hostages inside, all of them facing it once again just hours before the hospital was scheduled to reopen.

"…Me either." Angie said, leaning into Leslie gently as a tear rolled down her cheek.

"It's alright girls… it's just us in there, nobody else." Tyler said, interrupted quickly by Victor.

"…It just doesn't feel right without Derek and Cybil."

Victor's statement was the only thing that took Tyler, Angie, and Leslie's eyes from the building, amazed by his honesty – he was the only one that dared to say what was on all of their minds.

"You're, right…" Leslie said, glaring back up at the building. "It doesn't…"

Victor sighed slightly, shivering as a cold breeze swept over him, the chill making him feel even emptier inside. He closed his eyes, pushing the thoughts of Cybil and Derek from his mind, instead reaching up and shakily placing a hand on Angie's shoulder.

"They would want us to… we've gotta go."

With great reluctance but in agreement, Angie, Tyler, Victor, and Leslie all began walking forward, ready to face their most terrifying memories head on.

And from his office on the top floor, Robert Hoffman watched out the window with a small smirk, hands clasped behind his back as they made their way forward, staring at the four strongest human beings he had ever had the privilege to know. As they walked inside and disappeared from his line of sight he just sat back in his chair, waiting until they came up to speak with him.

--

Tyler was the first to round the corner to the hallway they had spent those agonizing hours, filled immediately with memory after memory. The bullet holes in the wall had been long patched, blood cleaned from the floor, but it didn't matter – nothing would erase what had happened there.

--

"_Almost done…" Tyler whispered to Cybil, working furiously to finish a text message to Sidney before Erik turned around and saw him._

"_Okay, go...!" Cybil whispered back, crawling towards the door quickly as he pitched forward and raised the vent up with his shaking hand, lightly placing the phone inside. With a sigh of relief he scurried backward and dropped against the wall, looking to his right to see if Cybil had made progress... just in time to see her crumple to the floor with a deafening scream._

--

Tyler shook his head firmly, snapping himself out of the memory before it could go any further… he already knew how it ended.

Seeing his sudden jolt Leslie place a hand lovingly on his back just as he turned and walked away.

--

_Sitting up against the wall Leslie Sears began to sob, watching Cybil drop to the floor, her body unmoving. _

"_Trying for a DARING ESCAPE, huh?!" Erik sneered. Her honey brown eyes noted that he was gripping the pistol harder, his knuckles nearly white. "You guys just won't FUCKING LEARN!"_

_The nurse didn't even have a millisecond to think as the gun was raised up, firing a shot before what was happening even registered in her mind. And just like that she felt herself scream with everything her lungs had, hand immediately coming to rest over the top of her left arm, blood seeping out from her fingertips. Unable to do anything else she just cried harder, collapsing into Tyler's lap – who through her tears, she could see was as worried as she had ever seen him. _

--

"Tyler, wait…" she whispered, following him quickly. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and they stood huddled together in the corner, watching a nearly lifeless Victor and Angie take in their surroundings.

--

"_...tell whoever that 'negotiator' was, thanks for the first casualty..."_

_Victor Niguel grew worried as he heard those words, never thinking that he would be the one staring down the barrel of a .45. His mind heard the shot and his eyes closed immediately, mistaking the blackness that enshrouded him for his untimely death. But as his nerves settled and he willed the courage to open his dark eyes, he noticed that he had been spared and that the bastard was laughing – something that had he not had a gun, would've made Victor rip his throat out in an instant. _

_And still shaking uncontrollably Victor felt a hand slowly take his and hold it tightly, stilling the fears of uneasiness he felt by a wide margin. She said his name in relieved exclamation, pulling him directly into her arms where he hugged her and they cried._

_Victor had never been one for human contact, but in her arms, he couldn't refuse._

--

Victor's already pale face went even whiter as he relived the memory over again, trying with everything he had to fight back his emotions. Instead he rested his back against the wall and sank down slowly, feeling like a shell of the person he used to be.

But as he turned to the side and saw the devastated expression on Angie's face, his heart sank further, realizing that she had seen more than anyone else, and that she was most likely fighting with more than any of them put together.

And he was right.

--

_Gripping the spare gun in her hand tightly, the barrel point directly at Erik, Angie barely stood, holding onto the counter for dear life as blood poured out of her leg, a bullet lodged inside it. Erik held around Derek's neck tightly with the other gun to his temple, but the brunette was smiling warmly, tears flowing down his face._

"_Let her go... and you can kill me."_

--

Angie quickly shook her head, desperate never to have to think about that moment again. Though it was the most courageous act ever performed for her, if he hadn't have done it, he might still be with her right now instead of half a town away, lying alone in a hospital bed.

Trying to think of something else she hobbled on her crutches over to their office, noticing that someone – no idea who – had cleaned it up from the destruction that had resulted after Erik had trapped her in there alone with him. With a nostalgic sigh she crutched in and over to their couch, plopping down with a sigh as memories attacked her again.

--

_Curled up on the couch, head on a pillow in his lap, Angie gently returned to earth when a soft set of lips pressed against her forehead, rousing her from her nap. She blinked her eyes open and turned her head up, smiling as a slightly pink-cheeked Derek came into view._

"_I hate to wake you up, but..."_

_At the start of his sentence Angie immediately tuned him out, smiling to herself. _

_She hadn't been asleep at all._

_Pounding headache, sure. But not sleep. She had simply spent the last hour lying in his lap pretending to be asleep, feeling him gaze warmly at her, his fingers brushing through her hair intermittently – silently soaking in the feeling of him taking care of her. In all truth, she had been his for a long time... the only thing she had left to do was tell him._

--

Unable to take any more, Angie rose from the couch and grabbed her crutches, pausing just before the door with a set of sobs so powerful they paralyzed her, allowing her to do nothing but stand and lean against them, tears dropping onto the tile just in front of her feet.

--

_"Are you hungry yet?" Angie asked, to which Derek chuckled softly._

_"Actually, yes... is that an invite, or are you just trying to make me remember how bad I need to eat?"_

_She giggled back at him, walking towards her doctor who stood facing her still. She paced towards him slowly, a playful glint in her eyes as she stared up into his gorgeous brown eyes, his cheeks turning pinker by the second._

_"Well.. I was thinking, if you didn't have anything else to do on our day off... that maybe..." she said, hand now on his chest, tracing the letters of his college T-shirt. Their faces were so close, noses nearly touching, the smell of him flooding her senses and pressing her forward into his arms – where she belonged._

--

With another small sob Angie stood upright, forcing herself from their office to see Victor, Leslie, and Tyler waiting for her.

"I'm s-sorry…" she said in between cries, wiping her eyes gently as she settled down, taking a deep breath.

"This is just, so hard… I don't think that I can be here without Derek – it's just, not the same."

Tyler stopped at Angie's words and allowed a small smile to trickle onto his face, the other three looking at him questioningly.

"I've got an idea…"

--

After a very quiet elevator ride, Tyler, Leslie, Victor, and Angie walked down the hallway and into Robert Hoffman's office, whose eyes lit up upon seeing them.

"It's good to see you here – I'm glad that you decided to come before everything became hectic again." he said, noting that they barely cracked a smile.

"It's very hard to be here, sir." Leslie said. "But, we'll get used to it, soon enough."

"That's good to hear…" he replied. "And there's no pressure – but do you know when you think you may be ready to return to work?"

Tyler sighed, exchanging a glance with his coworkers. "We talked it over, and we're ready to return to work next week…"

"Wow, I'm sur—"

"…On one condition." Tyler said, cutting Dr. Hoffman off. The surgeon extended his hand as if to say 'continue', leaning back in his seat.

Tyler exhaled, eyes locked directly with Hoffman's.

"We'll return to work next week… but only if Derek can come with us."

Robert raised an eyebrow skeptically. "You want Derek to come back to work with you next week?"

Leslie sighed. "Not like that, sir. I mean, we want him transferred here. If something happens to him or he wakes up, we want to be the first ones to see him, to hear about any changes in his condition. If he's half the town away, we can't do that…"

Dr. Hoffman nodded to their request, slowly allowing a small smile to grace his face.

"Consider it done. Next Monday morning, we'll have Derek transferred here by the time you all start work." he said, receiving thanks from the four as they removed themselves from his office, and eventually, the building.

--

The rest of the week passed quickly, and before they knew it, Angie, Tyler, Victor, and Leslie found themselves in their Caduceus uniforms once more, standing outside of the building, reluctant to go in.

As if fighting through the swarms of press wasn't enough, the four victims returning to work that day found themselves all stopping in front of a huge shrine of flowers, candles, posters and other entities, which they had not seen in their visitation the other day. All four stopped upon seeing it but quickly turned away, walking into the building before they could let their emotions get to them again.

Immediately Victor went to the lab, leaving Tyler, Leslie, and Angie to go see Derek. Taking the elevator to the third floor they walked to the end of a very quiet hallway and into his room, seeing that he was in fact, at Caduceus with them again.

"Alright buddy, time to get up…!" Tyler shouted, clapping his hands a few times. Leslie and Angie smiled, the nurse on crutches making her way to Derek's bedside again, just like every day for the past three weeks. As she straightened his hair Tyler walked to the other side of the bed, his smile instantly dropping when he took a look at the monitors. Grabbing quickly for his headset he radioed Dr. Hoffman down to Derek's room, while Angie and Leslie stared on at him, nearly yelling at him to tell them what was happening.

"What's the problem Dr. Chase?" Robert asked, stepping into the room and closing the door behind him.

"THIS is my problem!" he shouted, pointing towards one of the monitors. "Was anyone planning to tell us this, or no?"

Robert visibly stiffened. "I was actually, the second you guys arrived. I didn't know you were here yet."

"TYLER!" Leslie yelled, grabbing his arm forcefully. "What's going on?!"

Tyler motioned to Dr. Hoffman, who exhaled sharply, looking at the ground, and then at the two livid women.

"During this time in a coma patient's recuperation, their status on the coma scale will usually fluctuate – it's what we call the critical period." he started, the gazes on him never lifting.

"Fluctuations are normal, but Derek's dropped severely two nights ago, landing him bouncing back and forth between a 4 and a 5…"

"FOUR?!" Angie shrieked, immediately beginning to cry. "B-But… Three is…"

"Irreversible… three is like a death… if they stay labeled as a three for too long, they'll eventually have a mental death." he finished.

"S-So, when is the critical period over?" Tyler asked. "I know it usually lasts a day, but how long is Derek's?"

Robert sighed. "I've been personally keeping an eye on it, and it's not getting better… there is… some, hope though."

Angie leaned forward on her chair, resting her head on the side of Derek's bed, holding his hand tightly as she cried. Leslie sank into Tyler, his arm hugging around her back tightly.

"The best thing you can do for a coma patient is to stay by them – to come in and talk with them, to offer them words of comfort and encouragement… studies have shown that they remember and respond to it." Robert said. "So, on your breaks, after and before work, just pop in and say hi if nothing else."

A collective nod was shared before Dr. Hoffman excused himself from the room, shortly followed by a distraught Tyler, and a crying Leslie. Angie stayed put, unable to let herself believe the news.

"D-Derek, you can't do this… you can't give up!" she cried, leaning her head into his stomach. Part of her thought about telling him how she felt – how much he meant to her, but she couldn't… she was still saving it for the moment he woke up.

"Please Derek… d-don't let go… We need you here." she whispered, squeezing his hand tightly before reluctantly removing herself from the room.

--

Time had passed and wounds were healing, both emotionally and physically. Though it had seemed like an eternity for those involved, only two months had passed since the crew returned to work, and Derek Stiles had still not opened his eyes. Little fluctuations were present in his condition, but his reading on the scale was centered between 5 and 6 – a bleak outlook. Everyone else was losing hope, but those who had been there with him that day refused to, chastising the world for their negativity every chance they got.

Tyler and Dr. Clarks were working double time to pick up Derek's surgical slack, and nurses from hospitals around the area had been brought in to help Angie and Leslie with their duties as well. Angie was now in a walking cast and Leslie had ditched her sling, but was still limited in what she could handle doing with her arm. Victor seemingly never left the lab which was never out of the ordinary, though during the past months he had worked himself to the point of exhaustion on many occasions, staying awake round the clock as horrible nightmares plagued him with his unconsciousness.

Angie spent a great deal of her day in Derek's room, playing him music from his iPod, doing her paperwork as she talked to him about what would've been his patients, and many times was joined by Tyler and Leslie for breaks, lunch, and just general visitation. Between all of them Derek rarely spent time alone, though his condition had not improved, sending those closest to him further into their depression.

--

One rainy Friday afternoon Angie grabbed a crutch from hers and Derek's office, the rain seemingly aggravating her injury until she decided to grab help in the form of a metal stick. Grabbing the crutch and another stack of paperwork she walked slowly to the elevator and up to Derek's floor, quietly opening the door to his room.

"Hi Derek… I'm ju—"

Angie paused, confused… there was a woman at Derek's bedside that she had never seen before – a woman who was now looking at her with tears in her eyes, smiling just slightly.

"O-Oh, I'm sorry…" Angie apologized, setting her stack of files down on the table right at the entrance to the room. "I-I'll leave you alone…" she said, turning around quickly to leave.

"W-Wait!"

The soft voice that called out to her stopped Angie in her tracks, causing her to slowly turn around. The brown-haired woman in question rose from the side of Derek's bed and paced hesitantly forward a few steps, stopping as she reached the end of Derek's bed.

"…Are you Angie…?"

Taken aback, Angie's eyes widened in confusion, though she found herself comforted somewhat by the woman's presence. "Y-Yes… I-I'm sorry… do I know you?"

The woman smiled bigger now brushing a chunk of long brown hair from her face, her deep, chocolate eyes warm and inviting. Angie saw something familiar in them though she didn't know what – the sight making it hard to look away, even in her confusion.

"I'm Elizabeth Stiles… Derek's mother."

Her words hit Angie like a ton of bricks, now finally realizing why her eyes were so comforting – they were exactly like Derek's. She smiled in her surprise, looking the woman over again… there was a very strong resemblance, and she kicked herself for nearly missing it.

"Oh, wow…!" Angie said with a giggle. "I heard that you had been coming here a lot, and I was surprised that we had never crossed paths… it's very nice to finally meet you!" she said sincerely, extending her hand outward.

"It's nice to meet you as well Angie…" she replied warmly. "But, may I?"

Derek's mother outstretched both arms for a hug, to which a surprised Angie obliged. She found herself just as comforted by the hug as she was by Elizabeth's eyes – everything the woman did reminded her of Derek.

"I'm sorry about that –" she said, pulling back. "I heard what you've been through and just needed to hug you… I want so badly to hug my son but it's not the same if he doesn't hug back…" she joked, starting to tear up again, to which Angie quickly followed.

"Hah, yeah… I understand completely… and I really needed that hug, so thank you." she replied, noticing that Elizabeth was smiling at her again.

"My son was right – you are a very beautiful girl…" she said warmly, giggling as Angie's face turned instantly red.

"H-He s-said that?!" she asked, only fueling the older woman's laughter.

"Oh yes – he's told me a lot about you…" she replied, batting her hand through the air. "But we can talk about that later… please, sit."

Angie followed orders and slowly sank into the chair at Derek's bedside, his mother making herself comfortable on the edge of the bed.

"Do you come in here often…?" Elizabeth asked, smiling as she noticed Angie's gaze on her son, checking him and the monitors rapidly.

"Um… this is actually where I spend most of my day…" Angie replied with a giggle. "I'm very limited in the things I can do, but anything I can do in here… like paperwork, breaks, lunches… I take advantage of."

"I see…" his mother replied with a soft nod. The women's conversation was interrupted by a knock at the door, shortly after revealing Dr. Hoffman, who paused uncomfortably in the doorframe.

"Ah, Mrs. Stiles… Nurse Thompson… how are you ladies doing today?"

Derek's mother began chatting with Dr. Hoffman but Angie stayed silent, noticing something in his shaky disposition. He was off – he looked uncomfortable, but she didn't know why. She kept eyeing him and he noticed, trying his best to avoid her stare.

"Well Mrs. Stiles, I heard you were here so I came right down – there is something important I need to discuss with you regarding your son's condition…"

And unable to help it, Angie started to shake uncontrollably, knowing that was the reason for him acting so strange.

"Nurse Thompson, could you please excuse us?"

Angie bit her lip hard, lingering in her seat momentarily. She didn't want to go – she wanted to know what was going on… what was so bad that it was shaking one of the toughest men in medicine. She stayed put, but seeing that his gaze was serious, reluctantly rose to her feet, grabbing her crutch as tears welled in her eyes.

"Wait Angie…"

The nurse was once again stopped by that sweet, calming voice – but this time, she refused to look up at Derek's mother, afraid to show her emotions.

"I'd really like it if she stayed, Dr. Hoffman… for someone who is so close to my son, someone who has been spending all her time with him – I think it's important she hear whatever you have to say." Elizabeth said, looking up at Dr. Hoffman for approval.

Both the doctor and the nurse glanced over at Mrs. Stiles in surprise.

"Are you sure? I mean, he's your son… I really have nothing to do with this." Angie replied.

"Oh, nonsense. Go ahead and sit down again…" she said, pulling a chair up next to Angie. Robert paced farther into the room and heaved in a big sigh, looking at both women.

"As you know, it's been over two months since we've seen any sort of conscious activity from Derek…" he began, Angie feeling a knot instantly form in her stomach as she nodded along.

"Well… his standing on the GCS dropped again yesterday – to a 3."

"WHAT?!" Angie shrieked, instantly beginning to cry. Elizabeth just looked on at her panicked, turning her attention to Dr. Hoffman.

"Doctor, what are you talking about?"

"It's called the Glasgow Coma Scale, Mrs. Stiles… it's a scale used by doctors to assess patients who are in a coma. The scale ranges from 3 to 15."

"…Three being the worst?" she asked with tears in her eyes, receiving nothing more than a gentle nod.

"It was only there for a short time actually – he's back up to a 5 now, but the fact that he went there isn't good at all."

Now crying freely, Elizabeth reached to her side and grabbed Angie's hand tightly, trying to calm the crying nurse, as well as herself.

"So, what does this mean?"

Doctor Hoffman sighed again. Personally, he really didn't think he could even bring himself to say the words, but professionally, he knew he had to.

"Derek's surgery was not an easy one… he coded once at the scene and twice during surgery, had a pretty massive blow to the head during the attack, and suffered so much damage and blood loss that it's not surprising how severe his condition is. Though the truth of the matter…" he continued, feeling a slight crack in his voice. "T-The truth is, that for every day Derek remains in this state, he slips closer and closer…" Robert stopped, feeling his voice crack again.

"…To dying…" Elizabeth said shakily, gripping Angie's hand tighter as the nurse bit back her sobs, trying to listen carefully.

"Yes… and at the point that he's at right now… at his specific condition, there is less than a 15 chance that he will make any sort of recovery."

Angie watched as Derek's mother began to sob lightly, the nurse wrapping her arm around her shoulders to try to console her.

"So, what are you saying? You're not suggesting that we give up, are you?!" Angie shot out, startling Robert slightly. He just remained rooted in his position, breaking his gaze with Angie to look down at the floor.

"Don't say it Dr. Hoffman. Don't you dare say it…" Angie snapped, sobbing behind her hand, her head shaking before he even said a word.

"I've consulted with the other doctors here Angie, Mrs. Stiles… and we all believe that with how expensive this is… how low a chance exists…" he started, raising his eyes from the ground to look at the women as tears formed in his own eyes.

"…That it's time to discontinue Derek's life support."

* * *

**And there you have it.  
**


	13. Battle

**Hey everybody! :D**

**Sorry it's been so long between updates - school kept me busy there for awhile, but I'm back, and I come with what I think may be the longest chapter of the story so far - Final WC was 9,772. I'm so out of my mind crazy...**

**Yeah, it's long, and I apologize, but it's necessary. This took so much work (about a month and a half's worth... seriously), so I sincerely hope that you guys enjoy this, because it's literally my blood, sweat, and tears. And my brains, which have liquefied and seeped out of my ear. (cries)**

**I also tried something very new to me in this chapter, and I'm sure you'll know what it is when you come to it. Just, take it easy on me if you think it's completely stupid, k?**

**So anyway, this contains just a bit of language, but it's from Victor so who cares :D**

**Without further ado...**

**Enjoy. **

* * *

"I've consulted with the other doctors here Angie, Mrs. Stiles… and we all believe that with how expensive this is… how low a chance exists…" he started, raising his eyes from the ground to look at the women as tears formed in his own eyes.

"…That it's time to discontinue Derek's life support."

It didn't matter how many times he was in charge of delivering tragic news – Robert would always feel a sting in his eyes and a heaviness in his heart when he had to tell family and friends that the one they loved so wasn't going to make it.

Though this wasn't just an everyday patient – this was Derek. The man who had saved his life, had come into his own extraordinary powers and whose talent he had watched blossom in front of his very eyes. This was the man who while Robert would never admit it, even held him together in times of incredulous chaos, and whose dedication had given him the strength to grab his scalpel and join the fight against GUILT.

Most importantly, had it not been for Derek; his determination, optimism and strong will – who knows where the world would've ended up?

It was because of all these things – all the things that made Derek such a remarkable man… that made Robert barely able to speak the words without feeling like the most horrible man on the planet. Especially because he had to hold it together for the two women closest to the fallen surgeon as they took in the news themselves, beginning to instantly panic.

"Doctor…" Elizabeth cried, pulling her hands up to her mouth. "D-Doctor Hoffman, p-please…"

As Mrs. Stiles wept, Angie immediately sprang out of her chair and tried to take a step toward Dr. Hoffman, hissing loudly followed by a pained cry when she came down on her bad leg too hard, nearly sending her toppling to the floor.

"Angie!" Dr. Hoffman scolded lightly, moving forward to help steady her. He slowly lowered her back down in her chair, seeing that she was doing her best to fight impending tears as she tried to reason with him.

"Whose decision was this?" she simply asked, tears rolling down her cheeks slowly as she reached to the side and held Elizabeth's hand tightly as the older woman cried, now looking over hopelessly at her son.

"Like I said – I consulted with the board of neurologists in the hospital, and they said it… doesn't look good." he replied, clasping his hands in front of him. "He's not responding to anything – it's like he's completely shut off."

"People stay in comas for YEARS. Years, Doctor… and they still come out, and are fine." Angie shot out, feeling Elizabeth's eyes on her as she tried reasoning.

"I understand this Angie, but…"

"Derek isn't a vegetable. I can understand why this would be important if he was, but he's not. He's not even near a vegetative state, you guys said that yourselves…" Angie interrupted. "…so if he's not a vegetable, that means he's just in a coma… and a coma is a deep sleep. People have gone on for a lot longer, woken up, and have been able to get back to their normal lives. It _happens._ But you never know if you just, let them go…"

Robert looked a bit taken aback at the nurse's incredibly fast explanation, trying to take it all in as he watched her start to succumb to her emotions, sobs forcing their way out of her, though she was strongly fighting them.

"I know Angie… I know how upsetting this must be…"

"Oh, you do, do you?" she started to snap, but stopped when her hand was gently squeezed by Derek's mother. Angie stopped and looked at her, feeling comfort spread through her as she saw her warm stare, though her brown eyes were still ridden with tears.

"I do, because I care about Derek as well…" he offered gently. "But unfortunately he had no sort of living will or wishes of any sort, so the discretion of his treatment is left in the hands of his attending doctors… I'm afraid there's nothing else that can be done."

The nurse turned her stare back to Doctor Hoffman, who was patiently awaiting her next round of fierce comebacks. He was surprised when instead of saying anything else she just buried her head in her hands and began to cry, leaving the room in silence.

"I'm going to leave you some time alone – I'll be back later…" Robert said disdainfully, stepping away to leave the room when he was stopped by a sobbing voice.

"D-Doctor…" Angie wept, trying to hold herself together enough to speak. "How c-can you let them do that?! D-Derek is NOT. DEAD!"

Dr. Hoffman flinched when her soft sobbing voice turned into a yell, watching with cautious interest as she grabbed her crutch and rose to her feet, shakily pacing toward him with a stare he worried made her ready to kill.

"He's n-not!" she sobbed, stopping to place her free hand over her mouth, wiping away her tears in the meantime. "A-And I d-don't understand why we have to do this right now… why can't we just wait?! There's NO harm in waiting a little longer, p-please… y-you're the only one that has the authority to go over them!"

"Angie, I don't…" he tried to interject, stopped again as she lashed out.

"YOU may have given up on operating…" she started, seeing that it struck an immediate chord with him. "…You may have given up on saving lives for whatever reason you did, but I will not let you or anyone else give up on him. I'M not giving up on him…"

Robert looked at Angie and then back at Elizabeth, who was eyeing the nurse with a small smirk on her face through her tears, proud of how she was fighting for her son's life.

"And I would especially expect for you to understand that, because had it not been for Derek, you wouldn't even be _alive_…"

His eyes widened and then slimmed at her outburst, feeling another sting in them as her eyes remained locked with his, refusing to look away until she drove her point home.

"A-And for someone who's saved yours, and countless other lives… who basically saved the world…" she continued, voice a stern lull now. "…I figured that you would spare no expense in saving him."

Shifting on her feet uncomfortably Angie remained staring at Doctor Hoffman, desperate to make him see her point.

"And if cost is what you're worried about… then I don't see why any of you are even doctors in the first place. Maybe you all need to remember what kind of doctor Derek is, because he would've never let something like _money_ stand in the way of a patient's _life_."

Dr. Hoffman blinked once, hoping that she was done for the fact that her outburst had hit him so hard, he was having a hard time holding himself together. She stared on at him silently and he opened his mouth, trying to interject before anything else could be said.

"I… I guess you're right, Nurse Thompson… Though the decision has been made, I'll talk to the attendings and see what I can do." he simply offered, relieved when she stepped backwards and sat back down, glaring at him with a soft nod.

He turned and went to walk out the door, stopping just before it again and looking back at the women with a sad stare.

"Please don't think that this is anything personal I have for Derek…" he spoke, his voice just above a whisper. "He's an extraordinary man and an unparalleled surgeon, and I have never stopped thanking God for everything he's done for me, for this hospital, and for our patients… he is truly a hero, and I'm lucky to have known him."

"…You want to thank him?" Angie murmured softly. "Thank him by not giving up on him. Thank him by refusing to follow "protocol". Thank him by fighting for his life the same way he fought for yours, and the rest of the people in this place."

Robert nodded softly, turning back towards the door where he walked out slowly, his eyes narrowing with determination as soon as the door clicked shut behind him.

It wasn't over just yet.

--

"_Wake up..."_

_Silence._

"_Come on, this is important... you have to get up!"_

"_Mmngh, leave me alone..."_

_Derek's hand raised up and swatted away the figure that was jerking around his shoulder, the figure that was trying to rouse him from some much needed rest. He groaned uncomfortably as he gently came back into consciousness, instantly able to tell that he had been asleep for a very long time._

"_Derek."_

_Lying on his back the surgeon shifted uncomfortably until his name was spoken in that tone of voice. Only one person had ever said his name like that, and that one person had been gone for many years._

"_I must be delirious..." he muttered, rolling over onto his side, his eyes still closed. "You sound exactly like my father."_

_There was a small pause before Derek felt his eyes shoot open quickly, his body moving into a sitting position. _

_And as he moved, the first thing that came into view was none other than his father, Alexander Stiles._

--

Robert Hoffman paced out of Derek's hospital room a mess, paying no mind to the small gathering that had accrued just outside the door. Tyler, Stephen, Victor, and Leslie all watched with a cautious interest as the director walked forward and then stopped, bowing his head and allowing himself a moment to simmer on thoughts pulsing through his brain. They all eyed him surprised, having never seen a man of his stature lose his cool as he was right before their eyes.

And as they stared on at him Derek's door clicked open again and Angie stepped out, allowing Derek's mother to spend some time alone with her son. Her cheeks were stained with tears and her eyes red from crying, something that alerted the four standing there to the fact that something had gone terribly wrong. No words were said as the tension in the atmosphere thickened, Angie now standing along with the four, staring over at Dr. Hoffman, who still had not moved from his spot.

"Stephen?"

A low voice broke the air as Robert turned his head to the side just enough to talk backwards over his shoulder to Dr. Clarks behind him, his tone void of it's natural firm foundation.

"Yes, Dr. Hoffman?" was Dr. Clarks' unsteady reply, noting that Robert had still not turned around to face him.

"Call a mandatory meeting of all the attending doctors on Derek Stiles in one hour in the conference room. And tell them if they even think of missing it, I'll fire them on the spot."

The five recoiled at Hoffman's words, especially because he walked away without waiting for a response. And they watched him go momentarily before turning to Angie, who was already enveloped in Tyler's hold, tears still streaming down her face.

"Why do I have the feeling I don't want to know?" Leslie asked, shaking her head.

"Because you probably don't…" Victor mumbled under his breath. "…I don't think any of us do."

In the meantime Stephen had pulled out his cell, shifting through numbers to try to find the doctors needed as with his other hand, he flipped through Derek's chart.

"I-I hope all of you are f-free for that meeting…" Angie managed to stutter through her tears, voice barely above a whisper.

Tyler inhaled deeply, somehow deep inside knowing what she was about to say even before he asked. "…Why, Ang?"

"B-Because…" she said, wiping a tear from her cheek. "…unless we want them to let Derek die t-today, we need to go put up the fight of our lives…"

--

_Derek just stared onward at the man in front of him, nearly speechless._

"_O-Okay, there's got to be something wrong with me... I haven't even dreamt about you in a long time..." he reasoned, taking the opportunity to look around at his surroundings. It was then he noticed he was enshrouded in darkness, the only thing visible the figure of his father standing in front of him, wearing the suit that he had been buried in. Though he was young when it happened, Derek knew the outfit the moment he saw it, leaving him with a wealth of confusion and a painful pang in his heart._

"_Seriously, what's going on... my dreams are never this dark." he asked, looking around slowly at first, but more frantically as he failed to find an end to the darkness. "Where am I? Why am I dreaming like this?"_

"_You're not dreaming, Derek..." his father said in a voice that stopped Derek in his tracks. He stopped moving around nervously and just brought his glance up to his father, soaking in the sound of the voice he had missed an indescribable amount, and yet ignoring the words he had said in the process. A voice that until then, would only be heard over old family videos and more importantly, in his head when he needed that last little inspiration to push on._

"_Dad..." he whispered gently, feeling a smile of epic proportion sweep his face. In an instant he rose to his feet and stepped forward, throwing his arms around his father tightly. He sighed as the man returned his embrace – it was the same as it had been in his childhood, a firm yet gentle hold that always had a way of calming Derek down... and to this day there had been only one person that could imitate it._

_Derek was roughly pulled from the embrace by a strong hand on each of his shoulders. Now he was arms length away from his father, staring him in the eyes and noting his concern._

"_In my dreams when I go to hug you, my arms always pass through – it's nice to get this right for a change..." he grinned, smile fading once more as his father began to talk._

"_Derek, aren't you listening to me? This is no dream..."_

_The words hit a hard chord, as shown when the surgeon began frantically looking around again, his hand coming to rest on his forehead as he stepped away from the firm grip holding him in place._

"_W-Wait... don't tell me I'm... I'm dead?!" he exclaimed, his eyes desperately searching for a way out of the darkness. In every corner it lurked, sending his panic into a frantic race to figure out the truth._

_Derek stopped walking in circles as his father's hands came to rest on his shoulders once more, whirling him around to look his son in the eyes. "Derek, listen to me..." he said sternly, catching the surgeon's attention. "You're not dead. You're not."_

"_T-Then why... why can I touch you, why is there darkness everywhere? ...Why am I here?"_

_Alexander sighed heavily, dropping his arms to his sides. "Derek, this is important – I need you to listen to me, and I need you to listen well."_

_The brunette nodded, all the while surveying the area and himself in the process. He was in perfect condition, the only thing keeping his attention the never-ending darkness surrounding him._

"_I've been sent to help you, Derek..." Alexander said bluntly. "The reason you can see me, touch me, and talk to me is because you're in a very deep coma. When your body is desperate to tell you something, you dream very vividly – almost like a hallucination. I am taking the form of your body, and I'm here to try to help..."_

"_Try to help me with what?" he replied, diverting away. "Wait... A coma? How the hell did I get in a coma…?"_

"_Listen – I may be a different form of your body but I'm still acting as your father and I tell you to watch your language."_

_Derek lowered his head slightly. "I'm sorry..."_

"_Good." he continued, giving a gentle smile as he ruffled his son's hair. _

"_Derek, you were shot." He explained it gently, watching his son's eyes nearly bulge out of his head. "You and your five other friends were taken hostage, and when you were trying to save your assistant a plan to take out the criminal backfired, and you ended up taking the bullet by mistake."_

_Derek just stared on at his father blankly, nothing he said ringing a bell. "What are you talking about?" he simply replied. "You've got to be out of your mind..."_

"_Great, this is going to be harder than I thought..." Alex grumbled, running a hand through his hair._

"_What's hard about it?" Derek said, a hint of boyish charm passing glazing over his eyes. "So you're not really here, who cares...? All I care about is finally being able to spend time with you, Dad! Let's go do, um…" he started, looking around at the darkness with a hint of frustration. "You know what, it doesn't matter what we do – let's just go talk, I've missed you...!" He paced forward for another hug and was promptly cut off by a pair of hands on his shoulders, forcing him once more to look into his father's eyes._

"_Derek, this isn't a time to fool around – we need to talk about something very serious." he started again, watching as the smile wiped from Derek's face._

"_For the first time in my life Derek, I'm disappointed in you..." his father spoke with a sad tone that made Derek want to die right then and there._

"_D-Disappointed... in me? Why?" he asked softly._

"_Because – I've watched you through your career, through your life, and the one thing I was always proud of was that you NEVER gave up. Not ONCE." Alex stated, a harsh pang to his tone. "And now look at you – you don't remember what happened at all, do you?"_

"_If what you told me earlier is what I'm supposed to remember, then no – I don't remember a thing." he simply replied. _

_Alex sighed. "Derek, you're shutting yourself off to what's around you, and that's why you're stuck here. If you want to get out of this darkness... if you want to live, you're going to have to trust what I'm telling you is true, and use it to try to remember your life. But it's absolutely vital you know who you are, so you can understand the urgency of this situation..."_

"_Urgency of what situation? This is stupid..." Derek said, shooting an annoyed glare over to his father. "You're not making any sense, and I really don't care to hear anything besides where I am and how I can get out."_

"_Then LISTEN TO ME!" his father bit back, seeing Derek shrink back at his tone. "Derek, you are in a COMA. It is a limbo between life and death, hence the darkness surrounding you."_

_Derek stood a ways away, glaring up at his father from over the tops of his glasses with his head lowered slightly in shame as he continued to try to speak to him._

"_That darkness doesn't have to be there though, which is what I've been trying to tell you. If you choose to be as stubborn as you have been so far, then you'll never find your way out of here...!"_

"_So, there is a way out?" Derek asked._

_Alex sighed. "Yes, but you'll need to listen or I can't tell you how to get there..." he said, staring his son down to see his choice._

_Derek clenched his fists at his sides and looked away, only to be greeted with more darkness. After a few moments of being stubborn he obliged and turned back towards his father, relaxing his hands._

"_I'm listening..."_

_--_

"What are you talking about, Angie…?" Victor asked.

"Don't tell me they're…"

"Yeah, they… want to pull the p-plug…" she whispered as she cut off Dr. Clarks, whose hand holding the phone dropped to his side dejectedly at her affirmation. "…t-they want to kill him."

"Oh God…" Tyler whispered, hugging Angie tighter to him as she cried. Leslie leaned into Victor who surprisingly placed a comforting hand on her back, biting his lip in frustration.

"W-Why?" Leslie asked, brushing a tear off of her cheek.

"T-They say he's not responding… that he's closed off completely to any s-sort of stimulus. And they t-think the only chance for snapping him out of it would be to present him with something drastic… like cutting off his respirator and feeding tube." she explained, staring idly down the hall as she leaned against Tyler for support.

"What kind of basis to they have to make that decision?" Stephen asked.

"Derek had no living will, no written wishes, no s-spouse…" Angie choked out, feeling her heart beat sadly at the last word.

"Ah, so that means his attendings have full discretion… that's no good…" Clarks continued, setting Derek's chart on a nearby counter as he rubbed his beard in contemplation. "That leaves us in a tough spot, unfortunately…"

"Those bastards…" Victor muttered. "You bet your ass I'll be at that meeting…"

"We all will, Angie…" Dr. Clarks replied, seeing a gentle nod come from Tyler and Leslie as well. He gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder before picking his phone and Derek's chart up and beginning to call the doctors listed on it.

"Ty… you okay?" Leslie asked, brushing away another tear as she looked at him, his eyes narrowed slightly.

"N-No…" he replied gently, hugging onto Angie. "B-But, I have an idea of how we can get what we want… it depends though."

Angie looked up at him and blinked in confusion. "D-Depends on what?"

Tyler sighed. "…How much you're willing to give up to see Derek live..."

--

"_You're going to listen now?" Alex asked, staring on at his son._

"_Yes – I'm listening, Dad."_

"_Okay. Derek, I'm going to help you by acting as the mediator between your conscious and unconscious mind. I'll be helping you try to remember as much about your life as I can."_

_Derek blinked once. "And why do I want to remember my life so badly? Especially after I got shot..."_

_Derek's father shifted on his feet and ran a hand through his hair, looking off into the distance to find a good way to explain himself._

"_Okay, how about this..." he started, looking back at Derek. "Your body needs to fight to wake up right now, because up until this point you've been completely shut off... hence, why you just woke up in limbo for the first time since you've been in your coma."_

"_Which is how long?" Derek asked._

"_Two months..." _

_Derek let out a low whistle and turned around once, scratching at the back of his head idly. "Wow..."_

"_The reason you want to remember your life is because you have a fighting spirit – you never ever called it quits, you persevered through everything in life, no matter how dire. And if I can help you remember the things on Earth that were worth fighting for, you'll be able to fight your way out of this and get your life back."_

_Derek nodded, still staring around him at the endless stretch of black. "That makes sense. So, tell me about myself. What was I like?"_

"_What I can tell you quickly is that you're a surgeon – a world class, world renowned surgeon. While I'm long gone you've got a mother who loves you, and from what I can see, you're completely in love with a wonderful woman, though you both seem too stubborn to admit it to one another. Your whole life is centered around what you do and those you are close to, and you have this extraordinary ability to save people that everyone else has given up on."_

"_Really? I've got all that?" Derek asked softly, finally pulling his attention back to his father._

"_Well, yes... and you could remember it too if you would just open up your mind! If you would try to remember who you were, things will come flooding back and you'll realize that it's not your time yet... your life is far from over, yet you're hanging onto it by a string. Ironic, isn't it..."_

_The surgeon blinked, surprised at the slew of information. "I mean, from what you're telling me, I had a pretty good life... until the end there." Derek started. "It'd be a shame to leave all that behind..."_

"_Exactly, and that's why I came here to tell you that they want to pull the plug on you, Derek. As a last desperate attempt to wake you, they want to cut off your life support. And if you give them nothing before then, even one sign – if you remain in this perpetual state of self-loathing and darkness, you'll never get back the life you had. It'll be gone forever, and the only thing that will be left will be the painful memories that you'll leave for those who are still alive and miss you. And trust me because I speak from experience – there is no greater pain than knowing you were the cause for someone's suffering. Nothing that will hurt you more than looking down on those you love to see them still hurting over the fact that you're not there. I didn't have a chance to fight – but you do."_

_Derek stood still, looking above him once to make sure he had not missed a break in the darkness. He thought momentarily, trying to process everything his father was saying when suddenly, he was hit with a feeling of sadness._

"_Well, they honestly don't think I can make it – so what if they're right?"_

"_They're NOT right, Derek!" Alex shouted, throwing his hands up in the air, his son jumping back slightly. "The only reason it looks hopeless is because you're doing this! You're refusing to try to fight, instead beginning to give into the ideology of beginning your eternal life. While you were alive you fought and DEFEATED people who preached the same idea – people who thought death brought happiness for everyone...! You realized they were wrong then, so how could you have possibly changed your mind?!"_

"_Because, Dad... Would it really be so bad? I'd get to hang out with you! Be in heaven!" he reasoned. "And what if YOU'RE wrong... what if it is my time? What if I was never meant to wake up?"_

"_Derek, don't you even start talking like that...!" his father began to yell again. "You've had an AMAZING life... and the only way you'll see is if you try your best to remember. If you open up your mind you'll eventually be able to see that who you are and what you have down there is worth fighting for! If you never feel the things you felt while you were alive, then it's a lost cause – you'll never have the will to keep going unless you understand what made you tick in the first place. You need to feel the fire you felt when you were alive, or else you won't care what you have to lose – they'll pull the plug and it'll be over… forever."_

_Derek turned to the side, feeling his father's eyes still on him. "It's weird, not knowing who I am... but it doesn't matter. That's who I WAS, dad. I was someone different when I was alive – but now when I pass on I can just be with you forever, Dad! Take me to Heaven with you – let's be together, you and me!" he exclaimed, excitement in his eyes crushed once again by a fierce retaliation._

"_Derek, you don't get it!" Alex yelled, frustration heavy in his speech. He reached forward and grabbed Derek's wrist, spinning him around to look him in the eyes. "You've never given up on anyone, and you're going to start by giving up on yourself?! You have a chance to live, but if you don't take it, it's OVER! Do you get it?! OVER. DONE. Right now you're laying in a hospital bed hooked up to machines that feed you and breathe for you – this is NOT how your life is supposed to end!"_

"_So what?! Maybe it IS how it was supposed to end – who cares?! People DIE, it happens!" Derek retaliated, further angering his father. _

" _Alright, fine... if you don't care about yourself, at least realize this – you have people on that Earth that are depending on you, and you alone – people that will DIE if you're not there to save them, to give them and their families hope! And just as important, people who need you to go on with their lives... the same way you needed them before you started to give up! In your darkest of times on Earth there were people down there that would pull you out and stand you back up again – people you relied on. And if you could just remember what that felt like... and trust in them to save you, you can live again!"_

_The brunette became angry at the outburst and offered one of his own, eyes narrowing considerably as he jerked his arm away from his father's grasp, all but throwing his arm back at him. "Why should I care about them?!" he started, a growl in the back of his throat. "Obviously if I was someone important – if I was someone worth it someone would be saving ME! Why would I want to wake up and live with these people if they don't care about me?!"_

_Alex recoiled at the harsh, selfish words, shaking his head sadly. "See, this is not you – the Derek I know and have been watching over would never even think of something so selfish..."_

"_Well it's true!" Derek yelled back. "I spend my entire existence helping people and the second I slip into a coma they want to let me go?! How's that for paying it forward...!" he shouted, hanging his head._

"_Just, try to understand Derek... they're TRYING to save you, but you need to help them. You need to fight too, or else they're going to give up." Alex said gently, his soft voice catching the surgeon's attention. "Once... awhile ago, you saved the head of Caduceus from death... you, and you alone. And right before you operated on him he told you that no doctor can operate on themselves, save themselves... and that, is their fatal flaw. You're why he was able to be saved that day Derek – he trusted YOU, the one he trained and mentored, with something as precious as his life... and now, he's alive."_

_Derek's father remained with his eyes locked with his son, pleading to make him see._

"_What was his fatal flaw, is your greatest advantage... because you are the only one who can save yourself. Who can turn away from the darkness and do something to get yourself noticed... you can refuse to let yourself fall victim to something you've worked yourself to the BONE to prevent... You can wake up and continue on with your life, instead of giving up before you even had a chance to see how it would turn out."_

"_And besides... you were wrong when you said that nobody was working to save you. Because __**she**__ is, and she's not alone... She's down there, giving hope to everyone who wants to quit. And just by the fire in her eyes, I can tell she won't give up until the bitter end either."_

"_She?!" Derek asked quickly. "Who is she!? Is she who I'm in love with?"_

"_See for yourself..." Alex replied, stepping out of Derek's trajectory. All that remained around him was darkness, further stirring his frustration and impatience with trying to revive himself._

"_I don't see anything!" he exclaimed, turning in circles only to be greeted with more blackness upon every revolution. "You're lying – there's nothing here!"_

"_If you truly want to be saved – if you want to remember who "she" is, who you were on Earth, you'll learn to trust what I tell you. If you trust me and allow me to help you, you'll find your way out. And when you open your mind, you'll see what I'm talking about..." Derek's father said, staring down sadly at his son, whom he feared was too far gone to be convinced._

"_Listen to me Derek..." _

_Derek sat down on the ground with a graceless plop and looked at the floor, refusing to bring his eyes up again._

_Alexander Stiles took another step towards his son and knelt down at his side, looking him in the eyes. "I said it before, and I'll say it again - you need to listen, because anything can trigger your memory, no matter how big or small. And once your memory is triggered you'll begin to remember more and more, and eventually, you'll find the way out. They're talking to you every time they come in your room – just open your mind, and listen. And if you ignore me and stay shut off – if you continue to be stubborn, you'll lose everything. __**Everything**__. And you can NEVER reverse that..."_

_Brown eyes locked in a stare, the elder Stiles lowered his voice to a whisper._

"_If you don't want to do it for yourself... at least do it to spare the ones that loved you the pain of watching you die…" he began, placing a hand on his son's shoulder gently. "You have so much to live for, my Derek..."_

"_Like what?! Please, just give me the answers so I can decide if it's worth it or not...! Tell me who I was so I would know what to do!" Derek pleaded, his eyes feeling a prick as he stared back at his father, his greatest mentor and inspiration. "I don't understand why you would want me to go back into a world of pain – being here is so much easier than being on Earth, where apparently, it's just one bad turn after another! If I worked so hard while I was down there, don't you think I deserve it?"_

"_I think you deserve all the happiness in the world, but that down there, is the world – not up here."_

_Alexander Stiles watched as his son's emotions remained unchanged, the pressure of the situation weighing on him visibly._

"_Believe me, you'll be rewarded when you come to Heaven, but now isn't the time Derek, and you need to realize that! I can't force you to fight, but I can tell you that my son... the son that I'm prouder of than I could ever begin to tell you, would NEVER lay down and literally die like this..."_

"_Just tell me what to do!" Derek pled again, growing listless as his father just shook his head. "Please! I don't know how I'm supposed to do this if I can't remember anything!"_

"_I can tell you about your life until I'm blue in the face, son..." he started. "I can list off every accomplishment you've ever had, whether big or small. I can always tell you what you did and who you knew, but I can never tell you __**who you were**__… That's for you alone to remember, and is the ticket out of here, should you choose to take it."_

_Derek laid down and pulled his arms close into his chest, staring out into the darkness before he closed his eyes, hearing his father sigh gently._

"_Get up…" he ordered, failing to budge a now teary-eyed Derek._

"_Just leave me alone... I'll be dead soon anyway..." he grumbled back, burying his head into his arms._

"_Derek, just please get up... if not for yourself..." Alex pleaded, moving closer to his motionless son. "...then for me. Trust me."_

_Derek laid still for a moment before opening his eyes with a soft sigh, rolling over and extending his hand to his dad, who helped him up._

"_Okay, I'm up..." Derek muttered, placing his hands on his hips. "Now, what did you want to show me?"_

"_Your life…" he replied._

--

"I've called the four of you to this meeting today to discuss with you the treatment plan set in place for Derek Stiles…"

Robert Hoffman got the meeting underway the instant the four doctors had arrived, and immediately after he started they already began to look disinterested. Doctors Ogata, Rogers, Riemann, and Johnston sat on either sides of the long conference table and stared intently at Doctor Hoffman, who was seated at the table's head.

"I think I see where this is headed…" Dr. Rogers muttered, rubbing his tired face. He had been woken up at his home after working a double the night before. "…and I'm just going to tell you right now, my decision stays the same."

"Listen, I know you're tired, Mark…" Robert bit back, countering the man's unfriendly tone of voice. "…but unless you want to start searching for a new job, we're going to discuss the patient's condition fully. Do I make myself clear? Great."

Mark had opened his mouth to speak but stopped as he realized that he had no choice in the matter, opting instead to lean back against his chair.

"I want to know in excruciating detail what prompted the four of you to come across this decision, and why you believe his condition warrants ending Derek's life support." Robert said, scanning his eyes over the four when they stayed silent. "Well, what are you waiting for?"

"He's been almost completely unresponsive for awhile now, Doctor…" Doctor Riemann offered, brushing her bangs behind her ear. "His standing on the coma scale fluctuates like mad, but since he's been here we've seen it in a slow, steady decline."

"And did you happen to check his chart from this morning?" Robert asked the four, seeing them pause before shaking their heads.

This outraged him and he rose to his feet, subsequently raising his voice. "And why not?! He's still your patient, isn't he?!"

"He's as good as dead Doctor, and I think you know it too!" Doctor Ogata interjected, his eyes staring up at Doctor Hoffman fiercely before he retracted. "I'm… sorry. I didn't mean to yell, it's just that… I don't think I have to tell you what's going on here. Anyone who's been under an 8 on the GCS for even six hours has a fifty percent chance of dying. Derek Stiles has been fluctuating under an 8 for two months. Two, months. Sure he makes noises here and there but we've yet to see him move a muscle. Something in his mind is keeping him just, completely unresponsive… it's like he's already given up. So, in a way, he's… already gone – that machine is the only thing keeping him alive!"

"If you would've BOTHERED to check on your patient this morning, doctors…" Robert shot out, placing both of his hands on the table and leaning forward towards them. "You would've seen that he climbed back up to a 7 today, which is definitely a show of improvement, is it not?"

The four stayed completely silent.

"I said, is it not?!"

"Yes…" they replied in unison.

"So, as dire as it may look right now, his numbers are fluctuating, which means he's not "as good as dead", Dr. Ogata…" Robert snapped, flashing a vindictive glare to the man at his left.

All of the doctors were too wrapped up in their meeting to notice that the door had cracked open just enough to allow a person to peek their head in and eventually enter, standing in the entrance.

"What it means…" Hoffman continued, voice increasing in ferocity again, "…is that a completely negligent and CARELESS decision was reached without paying any mind to the situation at hand… even moreso because of who this patient is!" he snapped, slamming his fist into the desk angrily.

"It was never careless! We're doctors of Caduceus… do you honestly think that we would make a decision of such magnitude if we didn't have a good reason?!" Dr. Johnston suddenly snapped, sitting up in his chair.

"Well I have yet to hear ONE good reason why ending Derek's life support – the last resort – is the best option here! You guys aren't claiming your case well at all here – and I'm supposed to call you doctors?!"

"Oh don't give me that!" Dr. Ogata yelled, rising to his feet as well and beginning to yell. "You wouldn't give half a shit about this if it was any other patient – and truth is, he IS just like every other patient… but since it's your little "prodigy" we're talking about here, suddenly you step in to save the day?! "

Dr. Hoffman's eyes shone fire at the statement as he stepped dangerously close to the doctor yelling at him, but before he could say anything in response, someone beat him to it.

"Take it back, you son of a bitch!"

The five at the table whirled around to see Angie with tears in her eyes standing in the doorway, screaming as loud as she could to get over the rising voices in the room.

"Nurse Thompson, what is the meaning of—?!" Robert began to interject, but was stopped short as the door swung fully open.

And with angry stares on all of their faces from just having heard everything, Tyler, Leslie, Victor and Stephen stepped into the room, standing on either side of Angie and forming a line at the end of the table, from where they stared down the other occupants of the room.

"I said, take it back…" Angie growled. "Don't you dare talk about EITHER of them like that…! Especially Derek – he's more of a doctor that you EVER were!"

"Oh, here we go…" Dr. Ogata muttered under his breath, sitting back in his chair.

"Hey, don't cop an attitude with her, asshole!" Victor shouted.

"Don't talk to me that way! I'll put my foot in your bony ass!" was Dr. Ogata's irritated reply, his cheeks hot and red as he stared Victor down.

"Dr. Niguel, Dr. Ogata – watch your lang--!" Robert started, cut off once more.

"Will you all just shut up?!"

The room quieted instantly as Tyler Chase yelled over everyone, the loud yells abating quickly in favor of very thick tension.

"She's right Ogata…" Tyler started, his tone of voice making it very clear that he wasn't in the mood to mess around. "…don't talk about either of them like that. You don't know the first thing about this whole situation, and you need to have some respect."

The doctor didn't respond, instead just stared back at the five who had just entered the room.

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid this is a private conference, and I am dealing with the matter myself…" Hoffman said to the five, noting their unamused expressions. "…Please wait outside until we're done."

"We have been waiting outside…" Leslie started in quietly. "And the reason we decided to come in is because we feel that the people who know Derek the best should be making this decision… not a bunch of strangers."

"That's all fine and dandy, but this is the decision we've reached as his attending doctors, and unfortunately, it's final." Dr. Riemann said, glaring back at Tyler.

"Aren't you forgetting, Dr. Riemann…" Dr. Clarks began, his voice benevolent yet matter-of-fact, "…that Dr. Stiles was the one to save your daughter when she was infected with the immature form of Tetarti?"

The blonde doctor just glared back at Stephen, lowering her head slightly in shame.

"And Dr. Rogers – don't you remember when Derek took your workload for you when your wife was hospitalized last year, even continuing to work for you longer than you were supposed to have off so that you could be home to help her?"

"What does this have to do with anything?" Dr. Johnston stepped in. "…The things that Dr. Stiles has done for this hospital and it's employees are nothing short of admirable, there's no doubt… but we can't treat him based on our "feelings" about him."

"Well excuse me, but since you've made it perfectly clear we're not allowed to challenge your professional decisions regarding the matter, I'm challenging what kind of backwards moral sense you have. To let the man you called your _hero_ just a short time ago DIE because you're too impatient to give him the care that he more than deserves!"

"Clarks, you had better shut it right now…" Dr. Ogata started, cut off promptly again by Victor.

"Ogata, shut your fucking mouth and let him talk, dammit!" the researcher yelled, taking a step towards the arrogant neurologist before Tyler placed a hand across his chest and stopped him.

"The fact remains, no matter how adamantly you deny it…" Stephen continued, a slight raise in his tone of voice, very uncharacteristic of him. "…We understand that the outlook isn't favorable but people in a lot worse of a situation have come out of their comas – two months is a short time as far as that regard is concerned. Not only that, in your actual list of reasons for letting him go was the financial factor, because it was costing 'too much' to keep him alive! I'm pretty sure for someone who has saved the world and has skills most of us could only dream of, there should be NO expense in saving his life!"

"How DARE you guys call yourselves Doctors!" Angie started in, looking as though she was ready to cry. "How, DARE YOU?!"

"Nurse Thompson…" Robert started in.

"No, Doctor Hoffman… they need to hear it!" she yelled, feeling Tyler place a comforting hand on her back to try to settle her. "Derek is ten times the doctor that any of you will EVER be…! When the hell did it become okay to let someone DIE because it's not "convenient" for you anymore?! You haven't even checked his charts in the past TWO DAYS - you made your decision and just decided that it was okay to ignore him! Derek would NEVER do that to any patient – every patient he's ever had he's given his all to treat, which is why he deserves everything you've got to give him! Why can't you see that, you bunch of arrogant assholes?!"

"I told you Nurse Thompson, there's nothing more we can do right now – he's not responding to anything! And calling us a bunch of assholes isn't really helping your case!" Dr. Rogers shouted. "You all have been talking to him every single day – we've been trying different therapies and methods, and nothing is working to bring him out of it! You need to face facts here!"

"You're talking about him like he's braindead, which he's not! He's still got near-normal brain activity, which means he's still ALIVE!" Victor yelled. "And if he's still alive – this is like a sick, twisted form of murder!"

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me…" Dr. Johnston muttered, placing his head in his hand. "This is turning into a circus…"

"If you pulled the plug today and he still proved to be unresponsive to the stimulus, would you re-intubate him, or let him die?" Stephen asked.

Dr. Johnston paused for a moment, thinking. "Well, we'd let him pass on – if his body can't handle living without the respirator then it would take too long to reverse the effects of the procedure and get him re-intubated and set up, which would end in him having irreversible damage to his brain and vital body organs. Generally speaking, you only get one shot at that sort of thing…"

"Okay, okay, we're just talking around in circles here." Doctor Hoffman interjected. "Would you five like to make a point here, or will you leave so that we can finish this?"

"We're not leaving." Tyler said. "We're a part of this decision, because apparently, we're the only ones left willing to fight to save our hero. The man who deserves that fight more than anyone in this world. And why we're here, is to make you see that your decision is a terrible mistake."

"Just tell me why…" Angie asked. "Tell me why you have to pull the plug right now – tell me why it can't wait… why we can't keep him alive. He'll wake up – he WILL. He's still alive, and he's going to open his eyes any day now. Derek won't give up as easy as you guys are… which is why he has the right to truly call himself a doctor… unlike the rest of you."

"That may be, Ms. Thompson, but the fact remains – trying to shock his system out of this is the last resort that we possibly have now. In all other aspects besides brain activity, there has been no shock big enough to wake him up... nothing is getting to him enough to make him want to fight." Dr. Ogata said.

"But you said it yourself, he still has his brain activity…" Leslie added. "So that means he's still alive – which means that Victor's right. It's murder. You're killing our best friend."

"We're trying to save him!" Dr. Riemann interjected.

"No…" Angie stopped her. "WE'RE trying to save him... I don't know if you remember how this happened to Derek, but I never will… mostly because if it wasn't for him…" she started, her voice breaking. "…if it wasn't for him stepping in for me, I would've _died_…"

A tear rolled down her cheek slowly as she stared on at the doctors, seeing sympathy begin to lace itself in their eyes.

"We were the ones who've been by his side through everything, witnessing firsthand how much dedication he has to not only his friends and patients around the world, but to Caduceus as well…" Tyler added. "A dedication that, if he was in your place right now, would make him fight even harder to beat the odds, instead of just succumbing to them."

"Whether it was GUILT, or having a gun aimed at his head, he never gave up at anything." Victor started in. "And sure, he had all of us at his side helping, but take a minute and think of where humanity would be right now if in the middle of the GUILT battle, he just… gave up."

"He cancelled his vacations…" Leslie began. "Went weeks without a day off… got called in at all hours of the night, and never complained once. Not, once. Because just like Derek would say it, "There's absolutely no disease, no ailment on this Earth that cannot be cured. And as long as I'm a doctor, I'll see to it that I never give up hope on that fact.". So it didn't matter what sort of grueling, exhausting work Caduceus had in store for him on any given day, he was out there, all over God's creation, going anywhere that somebody needed him – because no matter how big or small the call was, he was a doctor, and never let himself forget what his true responsibilities were."

"So, that's why we're here right now…" Angie finished, her voice hushed yet very serious. "Because nobody knows Derek better than we do. Especially me, because I've been at his side nearly twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, following him to hell and back. And any time I felt like giving up, he pushed me to go on… not for the sake of the two of us, or anyone in this room, but for those out there who had nowhere else to turn, who were giving up hope. He saved a countless amount of lives, and to let him die like t-this…" she continued, trying her best to hold in her emotions. "…is basically like you saying that someone of his incredible devotion doesn't deserve the same thing he gave everyone else he's ever known – and that's everything he possibly had to give."

"And all name-calling and insults aside, we really need for you to see just who you're taking away from not only us, but the world as we know it… the man who restored everyone's faith in humanity, no matter how many times it was shattered." Tyler said, bowing his head just slightly as he felt a prick in his own eyes. "He is the reason we're all here – why we didn't lose our loved ones, friends, or coworkers… And for someone who devoted every possible part of him to saving lives, we made a promise to do the same, by doing everything we possibly can to save him."

"We're willing to give up anything we have to in order to save his life, just like we know he would and has already done for us." Stephen added softly.

The five sat still at the table, Derek's friends striking a painful chord with them all now that they had settled down. They exchanged glances and silent words with one another, Dr. Hoffman just looking on at them curiously as they did so.

"We understand and appreciate exactly where you're coming from…" Dr. Rogers began, turning towards the five. "Derek Stiles is absolutely a hero, and not for one second have we ever doubted that fact. He's given more to us than we ever could hope to repay him for, and even though he's young, I can personally say that I looked up to him ever since I started working here. The man is a legacy, and will never be forgotten, whether he lives or dies."

The five doctors and nurses nodded their heads in satisfaction at the statement, glad that they were finally able to get through to the doctors.

"However…" Dr. Rogers continued. "We need you all to understand that the best chance Derek has to wake up comes in the form of that shock to his system. He needs something big to bring him out of this, and pulling the plug is the only way to deliver that magnitude to him."

"We had a feeling you'd say that…" Tyler said, biting his lip once as he looked over to his other four colleagues, who just gave him a gentle nod to keep going. "And that's why we wanted to stress before that we'd do anything necessary to save Derek's life – to prevent this from happening to him."

"And exactly what are you talking about here, Dr. Chase?" Dr. Riemann asked, eyebrows raised.

Victor took a step forward. "Well, should you still choose to pull the plug on Derek today or tomorrow we would file an immediate legal claim against the action, causing any treatment to the patient to be inevitably postponed until a judge can make the decision. And once we got you in court, we'd take you assholes down so fast you wouldn't know what hit you."

"That's preposterous!" Dr. Ogata said, slamming his fist down on the table. "That's got to be the most unprofessional thing I've ever heard!"

"I'm pretty sure everything you've said during this meeting already took that award!" Leslie shot in.

"Hold on a minute!" Robert said, banging his hand on the table to catch attention, his focus now shifted towards the five by the door. "There's no way that would work – to conduct a legal battle of that nature you would have to be in court seemingly all day, every day."

"Exactly." Tyler said with a smirk. "And that's why if this decision goes ahead, you'd be screwing yourselves in more way than one. Because not only would you have a legal battle on your hands…" he began, pointing to the four standing next to him. "Caduceus's entire Special Disease Counteraction Team's letters of resignation would be on your desk faster than you would imagine." he finished, his friends nodding in agreement.

"You can't be serious!" Dr. Ogata exclaimed. "Do you have any idea how that would increase the workload for everyone here! That's asinine!"

"That's why we highly suggest you make your decision very wisely." Victor added. "One wrong move, and there will be hell to pay."

A stalemate came over the room as the doctors at the table looked at one another questioningly, trying to figure out what their next course of action should be.

"One week."

Everyone looked over to Dr. Hoffman with wide eyes and confusion, wondering what he was talking about.

"Doctor…?" Angie asked quietly.

"In one week, if Derek's hasn't shown enough change... if his condition doesn't change enough to be considered progress, then we'll… turn it over to his attending doctors."

"What!? One week!?" Leslie asked. "It has to be more than that, please…"

"Listen to me you five…" Robert went on. "You know that there's nothing I'd like more than to give everything I have to save Derek… I completely disagree with the decision at hand, but if you guys don't present your lawsuit, the one that could come at us for interfering with treatment would be far more harrowing. I'm afraid that this is a double edged sword, and the only way to do this is to give Derek's condition one week to show any kind of improvement."

"Until then…" Hoffman continued, turning toward the doctors. "You four have no other responsibilities at this hospital than round the clock monitoring of Derek Stiles. You are all to report to me at the beginning and end of your shift, as well as trying every conceivable method you have again to get him responsive. I am to be notified of every change and method used, and everything you do to him must be signed off by me before you even think of touching him. Do I make myself clear?"

The four doctors nodded in unison.

"Okay. You're all dismissed."

Angie, Tyler, Victor, Stephen, and Leslie exited the room first, standing by each other in a small huddle as the doctors walked out after, the two groups exchanging harsh glares and few muttered words.

"I should go tell Derek's mother the news…" Angie said. "She's been waiting…"

"That's a good idea…" Tyler said. "Don't worry you guys – you all did awesome in there… now, all we can do it try our best to get through to Derek."

A collective nod was shared as Angie slowly made her way back to Derek's room, tears welling in her eyes, though she tried to fight them back.

"_We fought for you Derek... now it's your turn..."_

And at that moment, the countdown began.

* * *

**I can't even tell you how much fun I had writing that boardroom scene. Seriously.**

**Well, I just made a final decision on it, and after this chapter, there will be three more. And then, the ending. Can you believe it? It's coming up quick! :D**

**But anyway, yeah, try not to rip on me too bad for the coma sequence, k? I know it's completely retarded, but hey, what can you do?**

**And besides, Victor yelling at people to shut their fucking mouth makes up for it.**

**Alrighty, hope you guys enjoyed it, and though it's going to be a very depressing ending, I hope that you guys decide to stick it out.**


	14. Memory

**Read this - it's important stuff.  
**

**OMGIACTUALLYHAVEANUPDATEWTF.**

**Hey guys! (waves) It's been FOREVER, and I apologize... between working 40 hours a week and doing the whole college thing, I barely have a spare moment to breathe let alone try to pump something out. But, I'm back, and I have good news, and bad news...**

**The bad news is, this chapter is kind of a filler chapter. I decided to do it this way because with the incredibly depressing next chapter it was important for me to not rush that, and combining this chapter and that chapter would've just been one long horrible mistake. So, I think there are three more chapters after this? Two? I lost count - whatever it was before, tack on one more and we're all set :) (And now that I'm thinking of it, it's DEFINITELY three. I promise)  
**

**Well, the GOOD news is, because I already wrote this chapter and half of the next chapter thinking they were going to be as one, the next chapter is already more than half done. So, I promise - it WON'T BE LONG UNTIL THE NEXT ONE. (Assuming anyone wants to subject themselves to reading it)**

**I'm sure a lot of you will find this boring, but it's a more in depth explanation of the days in between and what's happening to Derek, and is also VERY important to events happening next chapter. So, deal... be bored... send me hate mail, whatever. :)**

**Quick notes - big thanks to reviewers thus far... thanks for being so patient with me... even though you all know what's up it still means a lot to me that you haven't jumped ship yet :) And also to Railan - when researching Derek's condition I got it off of a medical website, and the 12 L of blood refers to not only his blood but the blood they had to transfuse during the few hours they were in surgery. It bugged me too at first, but then I went "Eh, I guess if they're saying it it must be true..." thanks for the heads up, though :D**

**IMPORTANT: Virtually anything you read in Italics is Derek and his dad. Remember this, it's important.**

**Anyway, enough blabbering.  
**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Seven days.

Seven days and the world's greatest doctor would breathe no more.

Seven days was all that stood between a collection of his greatest friends and loved ones losing their hero – the man who was always gave them hope.

…The man who was supposed to never give up.

It seemed ill-fitting that the one and only patient Derek Stiles ever gave up on was going to be himself, but even in the face of his own death the doctor showed just how selfless of a man he was – how committed he was to putting himself last to focus on the needs of others.

It was that same selfless spirit that landed him in this predicament, as trying to save the woman he loved ended with him clinging to life instead of taking the chance of something happening to her – a risk that for Derek, didn't even take a second thought.

It was that spirit that he and Angie shared and bonded over during the many days and nights they spent working tirelessly without any reward for themselves, knowing that giving up their own lives was necessary because they were all the world had to depend on.

Most importantly, it was the same spirit that Angie had always admired in him – the one that made her push every day to do as much as she could for others, and the one that gave her an unconquerable will when it came to the most important thing she would ever have to do…

Save the life of the man that had saved her – the man she loved and looked up to more than anyone else she had ever known.

Pacing back towards Derek's room, Angie thought of his history of selflessness and scowled at the thought, realizing that he couldn't have picked a worse time to be who he was.

Because when it came down to it, he wasn't being selfless… he was being completely _selfish_, even so much as thinking of leaving behind the ones who loved him and needed him the most. The ones who would've died without him, the ones who placed their hope for a brighter future in the palm of his hand…

…the ones who would trade anything to see him open his eyes again.

Stopping short in the hallway to collect herself, Angie took a deep breath in and placed her hand on the handle to Derek's room, pushing the door open to reveal a very distraught Mrs. Stiles at her son's beside.

The fingers unconsciously brushing through his brown locks were pulled away and settled in front of her mouth gently, her body beginning to shake without her control. Tears pooled in her eyes as Angie stepped in and closed the door, and with a few successful hobbles on her crutch she managed to wrap her arm around Elizabeth, who simply sank into her embrace – at that moment, Angie was literally all she had.

"It's okay… we have time." was all Angie could bring herself to whisper as Elizabeth pulled herself out of her grasps and stared on at the nurse, tears clouding her vision.

"W-We… what?"

Angie sighed and smiled gently, reaching her hand not holding a crutch up to rub the older woman's arm reassuringly.

"We went in and fought with them, and they gave us some time to see a change before they decide to take him off his support." Angie began to explain, seeing Derek's mother light up slightly at the mention.

"H-How long, Angie?" she asked, eyes hopeful as Angie bit her lip.

"…A week."

And like that the hope dissipated again, leaving Elizabeth ready to cry as she looked back at her son lying in bed, moving instinctively to his side again as her hand grabbed his. She took a big breath as Angie waited for her to speak, her eyes never leaving Derek.

"W-We can work with a week… we can get him to wake up. W-We have to get him to wake up…" she whispered sadly, stroking his cheek with her free hand.

"I-I'm sorry it's not much…" Angie said, trying to hold her professional tone as her voice cracked. "B-But…"

"Angie…"

Angie looked up and into those familiar brown eyes as Elizabeth finally turned her gaze away from her son, rising to her feet.

"It may not be a long time, but at least it's some time. I'm so amazed to see that you're not willing to back down – that you'll fight for my son until the very end… and I can't tell you how grateful I am for you doing that."

Angie began to cry, though she still fought to hold it in. "I-I just wanted to put up the same fight for him that he did for every patient h-he ever had… he t-taught me to never give up, so I won't… I won't give up on him!"

"Its okay, honey…" Elizabeth said, stepping towards Angie.

"B-But it's not!" Angie interjected. "None of this would've ever happened if Derek wasn't trying to save _me_…! It's c-completely my fault!"

"Angela!"

Angie was grabbed roughly by the shoulders and the harsh tone prompted her to look up to see Derek's mother very seriously staring her in the eyes.

"Don't you _ever_ think for one second that any of this is your fault. It's not your fault some psycho decided to come in and start shooting, it's not your fault the woman was stabbed in the first place, and it's definitely not your fault that Derek is how he is right now – never forget that he is still _ALIVE_. And because he is still alive, we cannot give up hope yet, do you understand?"

Angie nodded, sniffling as tears ran down her cheeks. She was pulled into a gentle hug and her back was rubbed soothingly. The nurse felt an instant comfort even with the strict tone that Elizabeth used, because it reminded her instantly of every time Derek held her together in even the direst of situations.

"This is hard for us all Angie, and I don't mean to get harsh with you… but you have to know that it is not your fault, because it isn't. If anything, you're the one helping to keep Derek alive right now by refusing to give up on him. Just please keep fighting…"

Angie pulled back and wiped her eyes, sinking into a nearby chair as Elizabeth took a seat on the side of Derek's bed.

"I just… I…"

"…love him?"

Surprised, Angie looked up at the woman who was smiling gently, tears in her own eyes.

"…yeah." was all she could think to reply, nodding her head slowly as Elizabeth smiled bigger, Angie's cheeks turning slightly pink in the process as she looked away.

"Does he know?"

Angie shook her head. "I wanted to tell him so many times, but until this whole thing unraveled I wasn't ever sure if I should. It… was never the r-right time… a-and then when it was, it was too late…"

"Just wait…" Elizabeth said softly. "Just wait until we can wake Derek up, because if the first thing he sees when he opens his eyes is you, Angie, I guarantee that the first words he'll speak are to let you know the same thing."

Angie raised her eyebrows as she stammered and blushed again, bringing a slight giggle to the older woman's lips. "W-What are you talking about?!" she asked quickly, diverting her stare away when the small chuckles turned into a louder laugh.

"Oh my, Angie, it's been obvious since he first told me about you… it took me only a few months after that to get him to finally admit it. Even though you two have been through some of the roughest times imaginable, you are what kept him going, Angie…" Elizabeth explained, lulling her voice just softly as she smiled, tears in her eyes. "Believe me or not, whenever I used to see him and we would discuss how things were going, he would tell me that he wouldn't have gotten where he was if you weren't by his side – that having you there made him strong and made him keep fighting because he never wanted to let you down… he never wanted to show any weakness or fear because he always wanted to be there… to be strong, for you."

Angie felt her lower lip quiver as another round of tears came pouring out, holding in her sobs to hear the words Derek's mother was saying – it pained her to know but also restored the fight in her that had been steadily fading away as time passed. Knowing that he felt the same way she did made her even more determined to see him open his eyes again, especially when she still had something so important to say.

"I know he'll tell you himself if he wakes up, Angie…" Elizabeth continued, watching the nurse with a sad smile. "But I thought you should know that he has told me on more occasions I can count, that he's absolutely head over heels in love with you…"

Angie couldn't help it anymore as sobs started to let loose, her heart nearly breaking apart in her chest – it was something she had felt for so long about Derek, and as she thought about it she became upset in knowing that she could've told him a long time ago. That now, the fear of rejection seemed like nothing compared to the fear of losing him for good… a fear that was slowly turning into reality.

"H-He told me, too…" Angie stammered, seeing Elizabeth rise from Derek's bed and come over to sit next to her. "W-When he stopped me from g-getting raped… he barged in o-our office and said he was c-coming to save me because he loved me… and like an idiot I never said it back. I-I didn't say it back until he was lying on the ground bleeding to death…!"

Burying her head in her hands Angie began to generously cry again, a soothing hand on her back as Elizabeth pulled her into a hug that prompted the nurse to feel guilty for losing her composure like that.

"I-I'm sorry…" she whispered, wiping her eyes as she pulled away.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Angie…" was the gentle reply. "We just have to keep fighting, that's all."

Angie nodded and looked over at Elizabeth with a small smile, drying her tears.

"Derek has to wake up because I'm not going to let him go…" she continued with a bigger smile this time, a glint in her eyes as she looked on warmly at the nurse.

"And besides that…" she went on, voice now quieted even more.

"…I've always wanted a daughter."

Angie blushed and smiled broadly at the thought, but couldn't help the question eating away at her.

"_What if that never happens...?"_

--

_Locked in a silent stare, Derek and Alexander remained just feet apart, the eyes of the elder Stiles searching his son's for sincerity._

"_You're really listening... you're really going to let me help you?"_

_Derek shrugged. "Sure, why not... if my memory is so far gone anyway it's probably not going to happen, but I guess anything is worth a shot, right?"_

"_Stop it." was the fierce reply, said in nearly a growl as Derek shrank at the tone, his eyes lowering to the blackness below him. "Would it kill you to stop being so damn negative? I need you to listen to me and listen closely because what I'm about to tell you is very important – do you understand me?"_

_Derek remained with his eyes staring downward as he thought, wondering if this was all really worth it._

"_...Derek, are you hearing me?"_

_The surgeon sighed. "I just..."_

_Alexander took a step forward and placed his hand on his son's shoulder, prompting him to look up at his father, uncertainty in his eyes._

"_Listen... I know this is tough, but I would never steer you wrong, and you have to trust me on that or else this is a waste of both of our times. It's not going to be easy, but you have to know that you have so much waiting for you down there... there will be a time when you and I will get to be together again, but please believe me when I tell you that it isn't now. Please Derek – I know you may not think it's the best idea, but you have to cooperate if we're going to be able to do this. Fact is, we're running out of time as well – time moves much faster up here than it does down there and you're short on time there... that means we literally don't have another second to waste. So, are you going to give up once and for all, or are you going to make me proud like you have been all these years and fight for your life?"_

_Now glancing over to the side Derek let the words run through his mind as he thought, heaving a big sigh as he turned back to look at his dad._

"_...I trust you, Dad. Let's do it."_

_--_

"This is absolutely insane…"

Tyler Chase's comment was met with a nod from the other coworkers he was standing with at the time, all three of them watching the zoo that once had been known as Caduceus.

"I can't believe they're letting all those people stay here… this is like a circus." Leslie replied, craning her head to look out the window at the people that had gathered outside of the medical facility with signs, flowers, gifts, and chants for the fallen surgeon after all the news outlets had broken the story of the now five day deadline.

Tyler and Leslie turned around quickly as the door to the lounge flew open with a bang, and just like countless times before, Victor came charging in with a look to kill on his face.

"I can't fucking hear myself think…! If I hear one more lame-ass chant that barely rhymes and is repeated about seventeen times, I'm gonna go outside and drive my car through that herd of people with a big knife anchored to my front grill. And before you start to laugh, Leslie, no – I'm not kidding."

Tyler chuckled and Leslie rolled her eyes with a smirk at the grouch, while Angie just sat idly on the windowsill and gently traced her fingers over the outside of her coffee cup, bad leg propped up on the sill and the other one curled underneath her. The three quickly noticed her unchanging expression before she snapped out of it and took a sip of coffee, rising to her feet and grabbing for her crutch.

"The way I see it, it's a good thing – maybe having to change their labcoats after the barrage of eggs this morning and hearing every news station from coast to coast trash their decision will make those idiots think again about what they're doing…" she grumbled, hobbling over to the coffee maker and pouring another cup. "For the rest of their lives they'll be the doctors that killed the nation's hero – hope they can live with that."

Tyler was just about to step in to settle Angie down when he was nearly tackled from behind by someone to barely stood taller than his waist. He whirled around quickly and chuckled, hoisting his little sister up and into his arms where she hugged around his neck tightly.

"Hi Big Brother…!" she chirped, pulling back to give him a kiss on the cheek. Leslie giggled and Angie couldn't help but crack a small smirk as Tyler held onto the girl, pulling back to look her in the eye.

"Hey Aim-ers… Shouldn't you be in school?" he asked as he set her down and pulled up a chair so he could sit at her level.

"I had half a day today – cool, huh?" she asked, grinning from ear to ear, several holes present from where her teeth used to be.

"For sure…!" he replied with a high five. "But if you don't have school, why are you spending your free time in this boring old place? Shouldn't you be out playing with your friends?"

Amy's smile dropped and she looked at the ground, and then sadly back up at her brother.

"Mom said what happened to Dr. Stiles… and I wanted to come tell him goodbye and thank him for making me not sick anymore." she explained as everyone in the room grew serious again, tears instantly springing into both the nurses' eyes.

Tyler was stunned. "Wow, Amy… Well, uh – you got it. Are you sure though? He's real sick and doesn't look like normal – aren't you scared?"

Amy shook her head diligently. "Nope. He was never scared when I was sick, so I'm not scared either. Besides – I gotta give this to him…"

Pulling her backpack off of her shoulders and all but ripping it open, Amy searched through the small purple bag as Leslie and Angie walked a bit closer to see, both of them watching with heavy hearts as the young girl pulled a big piece of white construction paper out of her bag and opened it, the two of them covering their mouths with their hands to mask impending tears.

"I drew this for him…" Amy said quietly, looking over at Angie and Leslie who were nearly sobbing and her brother, whose normally happy face was completely serious, still in disbelief that she had done something like this.

Her tiny hands holding the sides of the picture as she looked down at it, she struggled to hold it with one hand and her chin as she began to point out various things. It was a drawing of Derek with angel's wings, a halo around his head and his uniform on. There was a shining sun, a rainbow, and he was seated on a cloud with a coffee machine next to him.

"When Dr. Stiles would come in and check on me sometimes he would talk to me to make me not so scared. One time he let me play this game he had that he said Nurse Angie would take away from him if she found it… so that's why he's in heaven playing his videogame in the picture – I felt sad for him because he said he never had any time to play it, he was always so busy helping other people instead of having some fun for himself."

Tyler bit his lower lip as he nodded to her explanation, forcing a smile through his devastated expression, his girlfriend and close friend crying not four feet away from him.

"This… is awesome, Amy. I'm sure if he was awake to see it he'd love it – he always used to love the pictures you would draw for him when you were sick…"

Her eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Really, Amy…" Angie spoke up, wiping her face as she smiled and nodded at the girl. "Did you know that he keeps them in our office? And sometimes, when he's having a real bad day, he takes them out and it cheers him up a lot…"

Amy smiled brightly and turned toward Tyler, who scooped her up in his arms. "Do you wanna go give your picture to him?" he asked as she nodded vigorously.

"Alright – let's go…" he said gently, casting a sad glance over his shoulder at the nurses as he retreated from the room with his sister.

Leslie turned toward Angie and both of them sat down at one of the tables in the lounge, sharing a pained laugh as they wiped their eyes.

"I seriously don't know how much more of this I can take…" Angie said quietly, leaning forward to lower her head onto her arms before she was interrupted.

"…Nurse Angie?"

Picking her tear-stained face up and looking towards the door, Angie was shocked to see a very sophisticated looking Linda Reid staring back at her, the girl's hands nervously playing with one another in front of her.

"Linda…!" Angie exclaimed, jumping to her feet as she tried to hide her emotions. "What brings you here?" she asked, full well knowing before she had even asked.

"I came to see Dr. Stiles…" she said gently, tears in her eyes. "I h-heard what happened, on the n-news, and what they said about him d-dyi—"

"Shh…" Angie said, stepping forward and in a very uncharacteristic move, embracing Linda for a quick second before she pulled back and placed a hand on each shoulder, looking her in the eyes.

"Don't cry – that's the last thing Dr. Stiles would want to see you do, okay?" she offered, Linda nodding and stepping back. "Be strong, just like he taught you…"

_If only I could follow my own advice…_

"O-Okay…" she replied. "I-I can do that for him…"

Angie smiled. "Good. Now, would you like me to take you to go see him?"

Linda nodded again. "P-Please, Nurse Angie…"

Angie nodded and led Linda out of the room with a pained glance back at Leslie, who just gave her a small wave before collapsing back into the chair she had been seated in.

It was going to be the longest five days of their lives.

--

_Alexander Stiles smiled, looking his son in the eyes to try to decipher his true intentions._

"_...really? You're really going to let me help you?"_

_Derek nodded. "Why not – I know you wouldn't be pressing this if it wasn't important, so I might as well give it all I've got."_

"_That's my boy..." his father said softly, a proud smile on his face before it hardened into a look of determination. "Now, let's get started..."_

_The elder Stiles shifted on his feet, trying to think of just where to begin. He snapped his fingers suddenly and looked up, locking eyes with his son._

"_Okay... say there's something that's very important to you." he began slowly. "Say that you had to operate on... your mother, for some reason. Even though you give every patient all you have, you'd give that slight extra push if you were operating on your mother... am I right?"_

_Derek nodded. "Of course – it's mom."_

"_Right." Alexander replied. "That's because human emotions are a powerful thing – when something is important to you, you tend to fight harder to protect it, rather than if you're just doing it out of a sense of duty."_

"_Makes sense." Derek replied._

"_Good... because this is the vital thing I need you to remember. The only way you'll be able to connect with your body again is to not only remember the things and people important to you, but be able to remember the way you__** felt**__ about them. Once you realize and remember your true feelings about the people down there, you'll start to become more and more in touch with your body, and that will show in the level of your consciousness."_

"_I understand the first part, but I'm not sure I get the end – my level of consciousness?" Derek questioned, his forehead furrowed._

"_Yes..." he replied. "I've heard Dr. Hoffman speaking about it down there... he and the other doctors refer to it as a 'shock to your system' – something to bring your mind out of this haze and allow you to wake up. That's what it is in a manner of speaking, but from our point of view, the thing that will send you back is the moment you realize that you're not done on Earth yet... the moment that you realize fighting for your life is worth it – that even though there's immense pain, you will yourself to keep going because something down there isn't worth losing just yet."_

"_So, what you're saying is that I'm basically supposed to have a revelation – that I'll only be able to wake up if I realize that there's something on Earth I still need?"_

_Alexander nodded with a reassuring smile. "You've got it, Derek... that's why it's important to try to remember as much as possible – not to let the pain falter you. If you search hard enough and you stay strong, you'll remember who you were and with that will come feelings that will force you to keep going."_

_Derek's forehead twitched. "...Pain? What pain?"_

_His father bit his lip. "Well, think about it, doctor... when your mind and body start to reconnect, you'll begin to feel whatever it is your body is feeling. And, the reason you're like this is because you were shot and had a very extensive surgery – your body is in immense pain, and the more and more you remember, the more you'll feel that pain. That's why it's important to stay strong, to keep your mind off of that and on the bigger goal – many people allow the first feelings of that pain to stop them, and sadly, they don't make it... I'll help you as best as I can, but this is all about the force of your willpower – you can do this Derek, I know it."_

_Derek sighed softly, scratching the back of his head. "And what if there's nothing down there that will help me remember...?"_

_Alexander shot his son a look. "What did I say about being negative?"_

"_Sorry... it's just..."_

"_I know – it's a pretty tall order... but just trust me, I'm here to help you find the answers you need. I'll stay with you, because it is not your time yet. Got it?"_

_Derek nodded and Alexander stepped towards him with a small smirk._

"_You ready for the fight of your life?" he asked, met with a small pause until the surgeon finally nodded, a bewildered smile crossing his face._

"_Good, cause we're starting right now... close your eyes."_

_Derek hesitated for a moment but finally obliged, closing his eyes momentarily until he heard the command to open them. When he did he was surprised to see that the blackness surrounding him had faded, leaving him with a backdrop that he knew was familiar, though he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Brown eyes scanned the room slowly as he took in every detail of the room, stopping dead in his tracks when he scanned over a bed – a motionless figure laying in it. He and his father exchanged glances as Derek took a closer glance at the bed, recognizing himself as the man lying there._

_  
Trying to take a step forward, Derek noticed quickly that he was rooted in his spot, unable to move._

"_Why can't I move? I want to go over there." he said, met with a stern shake of his father's head._

"_You can't – you're merely here to observe. Think of it like a fishbowl – people are going to start coming in here more and more because time is winding down on you – at the point we're at right now, you've got five days before they take you off life support, so everyone is at their wit's end trying to make you wake up. So, as they come in we'll be talking about things and I'll do my best to get you to remember everything I can, based on watching your life... sound okay?"_

_Derek nodded in response and his father smiled. "Good, because it looks like we're starting right now..."_

--

"Come on in, Amy…"

Tyler Chase walked in first to Derek Stiles' room and held the door open, grabbing his little sister's hand and leading her inside slowly. She stopped when the door closed and leaned her back against it, curious eyes never leaving Derek's motionless form in his bed. Her fingers tightly gripped the picture in her hands and the other hand held Tyler's tightly, looking up at him hesitantly for reassurance.

He knelt down next to her and smiled softly, looking her in the eyes. "It's okay if you don't want to do this, Amy… Dr. Stiles is very sick, and I know he'll understand if you're a little scared."

She nodded back. "Even though I saw lots of sick people while I was in the hospital it was different – he's not supposed to be sick, he's supposed to help everyone because he didn't want for anyone to be sick ever again."

Tyler frowned and rose to his feet. "…come on Amy – it's okay that you go. I'll leave your picture here for him…" he started, reaching gently for the picture but unsuccessfully, as Amy pulled in close to her chest with a frown of her own.

"No… I'm going to give it to him. He did a lot for me, so I can't be scared now…"

"Are you sure?"

The young girl nodded vigorously. "Uh-huh. It's okay – he'll be able to see it when he wakes up anyway."

Tyler smiled sadly, the smirk fading when Amy looked up at him questioningly again.

"…can I talk to him?" she asked hesitantly.

He sighed. "Of course you can… he can't talk back, but he can still hear you… so, go for it – I'm sure he'd love to hear what you have to say."

She smiled and walked forward, gripping his hand tightly.

--

_As the blonde and the young girl paced towards where his unconscious form was laying, Derek and Alexander watched intently until the elder Stiles turned towards his son._

"_I know these people, Dad..." Derek said matter-of factly, brown eyes never leaving the sight. "I __**know**__ I know these people… right? I do... right?"_

"_Allow me to explain, son." Alexander offered, finally pulling the brunette's gaze off of the sight in front of him. "Once again, this whole experience is tied to your memory, and your memory is tied to your emotions. I can tell you all I want about these people until I'm blue in the face, but that won't make you remember why they're important to you. So, I'll give you a few facts, you can watch and listen to them, and once you truly remember who they are, you'll remember their names, and maybe even things about them. And the more you remember, the closer you'll be... I can tell you general things, but only you hold the memories about these people that will remind you why they're in your life to begin with."_

_Derek nodded. "I understand – so, who are they?"_

"_The blonde is your best friend, has been since college – you two went to med school together, and were roommates for almost all of that time."_

"_Really?" Derek asked, watching as the young girl with him finally reached the end of his bed, her eyes nervous and uncertain. "That's not, his kid... is it? She looks a bit old to be his..."_

"_No, Derek... that's his sister. She was a patient of yours not too long ago, but when you came to Caduceus and found out she had GUILT, you were able to perform a successful operation on her and save her life..."_

"I just wanted to say thank you again, Dr. Stiles… thanks for never giving up on me. This is for you…"

Tyler sighed. "If it wasn't for you, man… she wouldn't be here – and I still owe you everything for giving us both our lives back."

_Derek and his father watched as the young girl placed a picture on his bed, so big it could clearly be seen from where they were standing. _

"_...both of our lives..." Derek whispered, repeating back what Tyler had said as he thought. Suddenly the surgeon's eyes widened and his father looked at him with concern, trying to figure out just what was on his mind – but before he could ask, Derek began to speak._

"_Tyler."_

_Alexander let a smile sweep his face, nodding his head. "You've got it, Derek... talk to me, tell me what you're thinking."_

_Derek remained looking forward as the pair stood by his bedside, the young girl talking to him about how her life was going._

"_He was going to kill her... he was going to kill Amy, but the operation was successful. He had been practicing euthanasia, but when I saved his sister I was able to convince him to stop... ever since then he's been my best friend, just like old times... and that picture – she drew me a picture when she was sick... I still have it in my office. And that game in the picture – it's mine... I always let her play it when she was staying here."_

_Derek flinched and his hand shot up to rub his temple after he stopped talking, a small hiss coming from between his clenched teeth. _

"_Are you alright?" his father asked, taking a step towards him._

_He nodded. "I-I think so... it just, hurts."_

"_I told you this was going to happen when you start to remember… the severity of the pain is very great, indeed, but you just have to endure it for a short time, and…"_

_Derek stumbled backward a step and closed his eyes, opening them again quickly when his father yelped._

"_Don't…! Ah, dammit…!"_

_The surgeon looked around contemplatively, noticing that he was surrounded again by the blackness that had enveloped him since this whole mess had began._

"_W-What's going on...?"_

_Alexander sighed. "I forgot to tell you not to close your eyes... that when you begin to feel pain, closing your eyes puts you back at square one – it was my fault, I'm sorry..."_

"_But, I still remember Tyler and Amy..." Derek offered. _

"_Yes, but besides their names, can you tell me anything about them?" Alexander countered, raising an eyebrow._

_Derek sighed and dropped his shoulders, shaking his head._

"_Take me back – let's try it again..."_

--

Sidney Kasal paced down the long hallway leading to Derek Stiles' hospital room, shooing plenty of nosy employees out of the way with nothing more than a stern glare. With four days left for the attendings to make a decision and with Dr. Hoffman for some reason keeping his distance from the whole situation, Sidney had taken it on himself to oversee Derek's treatment and progress personally.

As he did multiple times a day, the director reached for Derek's chart in the basket just outside his door, realizing when the swipe of his hand came up empty that someone must be inside with the surgeon at the moment. He opened the door quickly and paced in, finding it empty, much to his surprise. The chart in question was laying on the table just to the left of the entrance, with a note attached to leave it inside Derek's room now that other employees were snooping in to get updates on the surgeon's condition. Sidney looked at this and shook his head, his dress shoes clicking on the tile as he walked towards Derek and took a look at his monitors.

"Well, Derek… you've got every one of my best employees depressed and unable to pay attention, and the rest of my staff neglecting other duties to come and gossip about how you're doing – so if this is my payback for making you come to work on your day off for that meeting, I guess we're more than even…" he said.

_Alexander looked over at Derek as his eyes studied the man speaking to him, his teeth sinking into his lower lip forcefully._

"_Well, Derek...?" he asked. "Anything...?"_

_Derek let out a laugh, though his face was devoid of the smile that would usually accompany the chuckle. "Sidney Kasal – I'd never forget that voice as long as I live."_

_His father nodded. "Good, Derek... you're getting quicker! Can I ask why it's his voice that helped you remember?"_

_The brunette sighed, raking a hand through his hair as he tried to think of anything to get his mind off of the painful thumping in his head. "With how many times I've spoken with him personally, he's left me voicemails to come in, called me to come in... I've talked to him nearly every day since I started Caduceus – it'd be impossible for me to forget him."_

_Alexander nodded. "See? You're getting it – you're not only remembering who these people are, but little bits and pieces of how they made an impact on your life. Whether it be as small as your boss calling you in all the time, or as big as remembering that you thought your friend Victor had been killed right in front of you... you're starting to remember more and more about these people – and you haven't even gotten to see the most important ones yet..."_

_Derek blinked. "The important ones...? What do you mean – who are they?"_

"_We'll get there..." Alexander replied. "Right now I think you need to just turn away from this and look at the wall – take some deep breaths and try to deal with that headache of yours."_

_Following orders, Derek turned around and faced the wall, beginning to breathe steadily. Somehow he knew that this pain was only the beginning._

--

"Angie… Angie, wake up…"

It took a couple rough shakes of her shoulder to rouse the exhausted nurse from her sleep, but she eventually complied, shooting up in a frenzy when she came to.

"W-What's going on…? W-Where's Derek… is he awake?" she asked, tripping over her words as she was still practically asleep.

Victor Niguel looked at Angie with sadness, shaking his head as he handed her a coffee. Her hopeful eyes flashed a sign of defeat as she sighed and took it from him, thanking him before she began to demolish it in front of his eyes as he just chuckled.

Day five was even tenser than the last four, and like every day it started with all of Derek's loved ones checking his condition – which up until that point remained gently fluctuating, but not enough to be considered forward progress.

"Do we know what kind of stimulation therapy they're going to try today…?" Angie asked in between sips as Victor grabbed for Derek's chart and gave it a quick once over.

"Looks like they're trying the tactile approach again…" he muttered. "…it was the one that caused the biggest reaction in him, even though it still wasn't that noticeable…"

Angie sighed, her fingers lazily tracing the outside of her coffee cup. "Does it say how long they're going to try it today?"

Victor's dark eyes scanned the sheet in front of him, flipping it over as he let out a low whistle. "Looks like they're gonna go for the full eight hours… I guess if it gets the most response they're going to keep trying it."

"…Makes sense." Angie replied, finishing the last of her coffee as she looked down at the cup sadly.

"I haven't gotten to have any time to be in his room alone with him since this whole countdown began…" she said gently, just as Tyler walked in the room and sat down next to them. "Everyone has been so busy, so in and out that every time I try to go and spend some time in there, either someone's already inside or I get called away before I can… it's really been depressing."

Tyler frowned and traded a quick glance with Victor just as the researcher's pager went off and he left the room, promptly replaced by Leslie. Suddenly the doctor was hit with an idea, which he presented with a quick snap of his fingers.

"Hey Les – you were just by Derek's room… did you happen to hear what time his therapy starts today?"

"Yeah…" she replied. "They start at noon – why?"

Tyler looked at Angie and smiled. "…would you mind checking helping me check up on Angie's patients so she can spend some time in Derek's room?"

Angie's eyes lit up as she sat up slowly. "You would do that…?"

Leslie smiled and nodded, Tyler following suit. "Of course – all the doctors are either in surgery or not even here yet, so you've got some time to spend alone with him… don't worry, we'll watch out for your patients in the meantime."

Grabbing her crutch in a hurry Angie sent a grin towards the pair as Tyler slipped an arm around Leslie's shoulders, helping her stand up as all three of them exited the room.

--

"_Derek... how are you feeling?"_

_In response to his father's question Derek just shrugged, still trying to breathe his way through the pain. "I've been better." was his simple reply, eyes still staring at the picture on the wall right in front of him._

"_I just... I know all these people are a big part of my life, and it's important that I stay for them..." Derek began, looking down disdainfully. "...But, what is there for me to stay for? What is really going to make this all worthwhile?"_

_Alexander looked at his son and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Derek, if you're able to return to your life you'll see exactly what I'm talking about - it may not seem like much now, but the smiles of your patients and those who love you keep you going everyday. Making a difference in someone's life, and knowing that you mean the world to another person is nothing to turn up your nose at... but right now it's hard to see that because of the fact that I'm trying to show you close to three decades of life in a very short amount of time. And like I said before, the most important people are st—…"_

_Derek brought his eyes up at his father as he abruptly stopped talking, noticing that his eyes were no longer on him, but across the room._

"_Dad...?" he asked, turning Alexander's attention to him immediately. "Why did you stop talking...?"_

_His father smiled softly. "Because, Derek... I can't give you a better reason to fight than for the person that just walked through your door."_

_Confused, Derek slowly turned away from the wall and set his eyes on the woman that had just walked into his room. Her blonde hair billowed behind her, wrapped tightly in a ponytail and her green eyes never left his bed as she waited for the door to slowly close behind her. As she propped up the crutch she was holding against the wall, she tightly hugged her arms to her body and limped forward towards his bed._

_Derek watched her in complete silence and refused to take his eyes off of her, even though he could feel his father staring at him from his side._

"_Who is she...?" Derek whispered, watching with a slight sadness as she pulled a chair up close to his bed and sat down, both of her hands reaching forward and curling around his._

"_...I'm not saying anything." Alexander replied, successful in breaking Derek's gaze from the woman at his bedside._

"_What do you mean you're not saying anything – you said you would help me!" Derek replied._

_His father frowned. "Listen to me – for someone as influential in your life as this girl right here, you should have no problem remembering things about her. If anyone could bring you back from this Derek, it's her and her alone. Just listen to her, and hopefully you'll find what you need..."_

_When Derek just stared back at him he sighed, dropping his shoulders._

"_That right there, is your assistant – faithful to you like I've never seen before. And she's talking, so you better listen up..."_

--

Hands holding his left one tightly, Angie just stared up at Derek's face with a sad smile, her fingers tracing over his skin softly.

"You know, it's been a long couple of days not getting to spend some time alone with you…" she started quietly. "…but this makes it all worthwhile – something about being in here with you puts me at ease, and I'm not exactly sure why…"

She chuckled softly. "…actually, that's a lie – I know why I feel safe here…"

Brushing a piece of hair out of her face and behind her ear, Angie lowered her head down to look at their clasped hands with a sad smile.

"…It's because you always made me feel safe, Derek… always. No matter where we went or what we were doing, I knew that you would protect me from all the bad things out there. Heh, some assistant I was… supposed to be strong for you, yet you always ended up having to pick me up and keep me going. But yet, no matter what happened, you were always happy to do it… so this is why I'm being strong for you now. I can't let you go, Derek… you're way too special to me."

_A frown set on Derek's face as he watched tears fill in her deep green eyes, making him immediately concerned._

"_Why is she crying...?" he asked, watching as the girl in question fought back her tears and instead smiled, looking up at his face and tracing his cheek gently with her hand. "And why can't I feel that...?"_

"_She's crying, because she's afraid to lose you – you're very important to her, can't you hear?" Alexander replied. "You obviously aren't making a connection here, otherwise you WOULD feel that touch..."_

Suddenly a brighter smile crossed Angie's lips and she giggled once, sniffling and pushing her tears back.

"I was thinking earlier this week… do you remember that time we almost kissed?" she asked quietly, giggling again. "Well, I should say 'times', but the first one you were so drunk I highly doubt you would remember it anyway…" she mused, laughing again as she paused.

"The operation that started this whole mess – when we lost Katherine… I walked into the scrub room and you were just so distraught, so sad. Even though losing patients is few and far between for you, it still breaks my heart to see you like that, Derek… because you always take it so hard, yet you did everything you could. And that time was no different – it was that asshole's fault she got stabbed anyway, but it all happened so fast… you just looked, so defeated. Anyway, we were talking about it and I was trying to reassure you that it wasn't your fault, and somehow we ended up really close… and right there, in that moment -- I realized just how much I care about you. When I realized that even though you tend to save me most of the time, you're just as much my source of strength as I am yours, it made me realize how far we've come since the pair that could barely stand each other back at Hope Hospital… how empty my life would be without you."

She sighed. "And, even though I was practically about to throw up from nervousness, I rose up and put my arms around you, thinking I was finally going to be able to show you how I feel…"

Suddenly the door swung open and Sidney popped inside, backing up a step immediately as he watched Angie jump in surprise.

"Oh, my mistake, I don't mean to interrupt – just let me know when you're finished, okay?"

Angie nodded. "Yes, Director."

The door clicked shut and Angie couldn't help but giggle softly, lacing her hands around Derek's again.

"And, that exact same thing happened…" she finished, giggling again. "Sidney walked in and we broke apart – come to think of it, that isn't the first time he's interrupted something between us… either him or Tyler – I swear they have it out for us."

Angie lowered her head again, rubbing his hand softly.

"I just, want to finally tell you how I feel about you, Derek… I want – no, need you to wake up so badly, because you have no idea how much I need you, how much… you keep me going, every day."

She paused for a bit but looked up at him again, a sad smile on her face.

"I'm not going to say it until you're awake – but, there's something really important I need to tell you… and while I know it's not much and that you probably could care less, I hope it's enough to get you to come back…"

_Derek watched as the woman leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on the back of his hand, tracing over it with her thumb as she stood up and stared at him for a moment longer, finally removing herself from the room with a gentle wave and a frown. His eyes stayed fixed on the door even after she left, a whirlwind of thoughts tracing through his mind._

_Alexander approached him hesitantly. "Well...?"_

_Derek remained staring forward, his hands now on his hips as he thought._

"_Derek, talk to me – what is it? Is it the pain? Are you alright? What is it? What can you tell me about her?"_

_The brunette looked back at his father with worry laced in his eyes, that concern mirroring in Alexander._

"_Derek, what is it?"_

_With a sign, the surgeon looked downward, biting his lip._

"_...That's my assistant. She's been with me ever since I started at Hope Hospital – no matter what, she's been with me."_

_Alexander smiled and nodded, but then frowned, realizing the discrepancy in what he was saying._

"_That's all things that you..."_

"…_heard the two of you say, yeah…" Derek finished with a sad nod. "I'm really scared here, Dad."_

"_Why?" Alexander asked, placing a hand on Derek's back. "Surely you can at least tell me her name, if nothing else about her... what is there to be scared about?"_

_Derek turned around in a slow circle, holding his head tightly in his hands. "I can't tell you anything else, Dad…"_

"_Why not? She gave you so much there, what's going on?" _

_Derek sighed._

"_I know nothing, and I feel no pain..." he started, looking up at his father with a sad shrug._

"_...because I have absolutely no idea who she is."_

* * *

**I'm willing to bet so many people are ready to kill me right now... and I'm sorry :(**

**Not too long until the next update - if I don't have it up in like, 3 weeks, PM me and bug the crap out of me, alright?! :D**

**See you then... bring Kleenex!**


	15. Faith

**Before you all go getting geeked out, let me tell you that I had to split the chapters again, so this is more of another filler. I'm SORRY.**

**So, I lied. Sue me.**

**After THIS its 3 till the end. The reason behind it? As I was finishing up this chapter, I realized it was already over 12k words and not finished yet. And instead of subjecting you all to that, I decided instead that I'm just gonna post this little bit of a leading up chapter before I drop the bomb of the next chapter. And unlike this month long gap between updates, the next one will be up either tomorrow, Wednesday, or Friday at the absolute latest. That, I promise. And you are all free to verbally abuse me if I don't, unless I die or lose my arms, or something...**

**Reason being, I'm having trouble with exactly how to end the next chapter. It's way emotional and quite frankly out of my league, so I'm trying to (sorry about this, but...) make it as depressing as I possibly possibly can. Bear with me - this story is my baby, and I'm not settling on mediocrity.  
**

**Anyway, this chapter is very short, but still important. Just a little preview to keep you all interested until I throw up the next one :)**

**So until then, enjoy.  
**

_

* * *

Alexander's eyes shot wide open. "D-Derek… what? You can't be serious… Of all people, how can you not remember her?"_

_Derek shook his head, his hands on his hips. "I-I barely recognize her… the only thing that's really discernable about her is her voice, for some reason…" he began, reaching a hand up to scratch his head. "I know I've heard it before – and guessing by the fact you said she was my assistant, I'm thinking that's why… But I'm worried, Dad…" he continued, turning towards his father with the fear he spoke about swimming in his eyes. "You've told me again and again that she's what will bring me out of this… and if I can't remember her…"_

_Derek slowly sank to his knees, the throbbing sensation that had pulsed through his head the whole day slowly dissipating as a thousand thoughts and worries tore his concentration away from anything else but the girl that had just left his room. He ached for her to come back – to be able to see her again... to try to put the pieces of her back into his life. But, the door that had just closed stayed shut._

_It hurt somewhere inside him that the person who was supposed to be the most important to him was the one he couldn't remember a thing about – but it also posed a question..._

_...if he couldn't remember her, was she really that important?_

--

"Alright… we're all here today to discuss our decision regarding Derek Stiles' life support. Today is the last day set by the deadline, so we're going to talk about how to move forward."

Dr. Ogata, along with Derek's three other attending neurologists, sat at a long table across from Dr. Hoffman, Sidney, Angie, Tyler, Leslie, Victor, Elizabeth and Dr. Clarks.

With all of the paperwork in front of him, Dr. Ogata paused for a minute as he flipped through the chart momentarily, eventually opting to look up at the eight seated before him.

"With this decision comes good news, and bad news…" he continued, idly twirling his pen in his fingers as he paused again, his stalling putting the already tense eight at the other side of the table even more impatient.

Trying to act as a catalyst, Sidney spoke up. "The good news, then, please?"

"Well, the good news about Derek's condition is that we've seen an increase in his brain function. As you all know he's never been completely braindead, which has left us baffled – this whole time it really has been like he's been in a deep sleep. This is a coma the likes of which we've never seen, as while he has no voluntary function in his body, all of his other vital signs are uncharacteristically good given the length of his unconsciousness. The only problem we've been having is that he's been very shut off to outside stimulus – and the good news about that is, in the last few days, we've seen a change. He's raised a few points on the coma scale and while it took just one minor dip in that plateau, it's stayed relatively constant – even climbing a few times. We know he's had an outpouring of visitors and loved ones come to visit him in the last few days, and we believe that's the reason why he's been more responsive. Even though some people don't believe in it, coma patients really do respond to their loved ones in a very positive way…"

Tyler's face suddenly brightened as he looked over at everyone else, relief on all their faces.

"I brought Amy in the other day…" he said with a grin.

"And Linda came as well…!" Angie added with a smirk of her own. "Not to mention the other patients he had, and family too…"

"This was all starting on day two, correct?" Dr. Ogata asked, and everyone mulled over it for a second, all of them suddenly nodding as they agreed that it had been the second day of the deadline. "Well, it did do him a world of good… that is, for a little while…"

"What do you mean, a little while?" Leslie asked, feeling her stomach flip-flop.

Dr. Ogata flipped through the charts, having something pointed out by Dr. Rogers seated to his left.

"It looks like on day five…" he started, confirming his suspicions somewhere on the notations in Derek's chart. "Day five, somewhere around eight at night… all of Derek's progress was literally wiped off the map. His vitals dropped, his reading on the coma scale plummeted… everything just, vanished – it's like he started back at square one."

Everyone exchanged glances with each other and thought for a moment, though seven of them didn't seem to notice that one wasn't thinking – instead ready to cry as they sat back in their seat.

"Can any of you think of what happened that day at eight?" Dr. Riemann asked them, watching as they all racked their brains. "Any clues you have may be important to helping us figure this out…"

Silence filled the air as the doctors and nurses thought on the question, before a shaky, tear-filled voice broke through the air.

"…T-That was the time I came to s-see Derek…"

Sadly, everyone turned to look at Angie, who was seated all the way back in her chair, hands clasped into her chest and a fresh set of tears running down her cheeks.

"I h-hadn't seen him since the last meeting we all had…" she continued, sniffling. "L-Leslie and Tyler said they would watch my patients s-so I could spend some time alone in D-Derek's room… I walked in at ten to eight and left around eight-thirty…" she stopped, picking her eyes up to look at the seven to her left, as she was in the last seat in the row.

"…I ruined everything…" she whispered, seeing sympathy on the faces of her coworkers, and especially on Derek's mom. "I-I must be the reason that he's doing so badly…"

"Angie, no…" Tyler started, cut off when she became more upset.

"No…!" she exclaimed. "Think about it! I used to spend much more time with Derek, but there was never a positive change in his condition until the almost four days I barely stepped foot in his room… the one time he takes a nosedive, I was the only person around to see it! I-It's all my fault!"

She began to cry generously and leaned into Leslie, who put an arm around her and tried to comfort her the best she could. Everyone looked on at her sadly before Dr. Ogata began to speak once more, breaking the tension just slightly.

"Well, there was forward progress, there's no mistaking it…" he reasoned. "But again, the drop is pretty substantial to happen in just a short time… something in him is still holding on in there, and we feel that there is a chance that given the proper treatment, we'll see him wake up…"

"That's great news…!" Tyler exclaimed. "So, what kind of treatment do you propose?"

Dr. Ogata bit his lip. "Actually, treatment was a bad way to put it…" he started. "Let me explain – all of Derek's brain processes are still perfectly intact, they're just dormant. They were starting to come to the surface there for awhile, but with the sudden drop it made us realize that if we don't act on this now, we may be too late… and that's why we've decided to cut off his life support, and give those functions a chance to kick-start his brain, and get him awake."

Angie's head raised off Leslie's shoulders, eyes wide with tears still falling from them.

"What…? No…! No, y-you… CAN'T!" she sobbed, unconsciously rising to her feet. "He had _progress_ – you said if he had progress that you w-wouldn't!"

"His progress is why we have to do this – we have to shock his system before he falls back into a prolonged period of inactivity… it's best for us to try this now, because this is the only chance he has to wake up, Nurse Thompson!" Dr. Rogers added reassuringly, though it failed to deter the nurse from her emotional rampage.

"N-No…!" she screamed, planting her palms firmly into the wooden table as she leaned forward. "I-I… I promise, I… won't go near Derek's room at all…! Bring in all those people again, the people that helped him get better… l-let him show some progress again, and then work with him from there – I promise, I w-won't go n-near him, I won't!"

"Angie, this has nothing to do with you…" Dr. Hoffman started, rising to stand with the frantic nurse. "They are doing what's best given Derek's condition – if they say that this is the absolute best chance they have to bring him back, we have to let them try… that was the agreement."

Green eyes turned venomously at the doctor at her side and he reeled back just a little bit as she nearly lunged towards him, Leslie's arm the only thing holding her back.

"How can you even say that?!" Angie cried, arms waving erratically as she tried again to step closer to Dr. Hoffman, though Leslie wouldn't let her.

Dr. Clarks and Victor just remained seated with their heads lowered, Tyler was trying to calm a very devastated Mrs. Stiles with Sidney's help, and Robert and Leslie were doing their best to keep Angie under control.

"How can you say that this is for the best – they're using trial and error with his LIFE!" she screamed, now at a pitch so loud that Sidney also stepped in to try to calm her, though to no avail. "Even though it's the best chance he has, it's still pretty insignificant – and instead of WAITING and trying to bring that same reaction around again, they go just yanking out plugs the second they have a free chance?!"

"Angie, that's not fair…" Robert started, cut off again.

"That's ABSOLUTELY fair!" she shouted, stepping forward again and nearly toppling Leslie over in the meantime. "They're going to play God with Derek's life, and the best part about it is that you're just going to stand around and watch it happen!" she yelled, fire in her eyes. "This… all of this… it's completely YOUR FAULT! How could you let this HAPPEN?!"

"Angie, you need to calm down…" Sidney said gently, now on the receiving end of the nurse's wrath.

"I will NOT calm down, because each and every one of you knows that I'm RIGHT!" she retaliated, eyeing everyone in the boardroom. Turning her eyes back to Dr. Hoffman, she noticed extreme guilt in his expression, though she knew that the only way to get through to him was to keep going.

"Since the beginning you haven't even given Derek a chance…! A week?! What the hell's supposed to happen in a week!?" Angie yelled, throwing her hands up in the air. "I'll tell you what – the only thing that you've been worried about this whole time is YOURSELF, _Robert_…" she bit, enunciating his first name as a sign of deliberate disrespect. "You've only been worried about how you're going to look for this – how your precious Caduceus's reputation is going to hold up if you make a decision based on feelings instead of ethics…!"

"Angie, that's enough!" Sidney stepped in again, fiercely shot down again by the nurse.

"No, it's NOT!" she seethed, voice now out of its shouting volume and to a low hiss. She pulled Leslie's arm off of her and stepped dangerously close to the towering surgeon, whose expression looked as though she had ripped his heart from his chest.

"I was there…" she murmured in a low voice, though everyone could hear clearly what she was saying. "I was there, watching Derek do everything he could – push himself to the limit to save YOUR life… and here you are, with the chance to do the same, and you back out like a coward… You could step in and risk tarnishing your 'flawless' ethical reputation to do what's right, but you and I both know that's not going to happen… and what we also know, is that it'll be the biggest mistake you'll ever make… "

She glared up at him again and took a step away, backing her way towards the door. With one last seething stare she looked him over, absolute disgust in her eyes.

"You have a chance to stop this… and if you don't, you might as well have just shot Derek yourself..."

And with that last biting comment, Angie slammed the door to the conference room behind her, shaking the room and its inhabitants down to the very foundation.

Storming away from the room an absolute wreck, Angie unconsciously headed straight for Derek's room – something about plopping down next to him and pouring her heart out was therapeutic, even though he couldn't talk back…

But just as she went to place a hand on the handle she reeled back, remembering the discussion from the conference room. Dropping the hand that reached for the handle to her side, Angie backed away slowly with another set of tears and bounded up the stairs to hers and Derek's office instead.

Things were never going to be the same again.

--

_Now pacing back and forth, Alexander rested his hand on his forehead, trying to think as best as he could._

"_...You can't even tell me her name?" he questioned, looking down at Derek who just slowly shook his head._

"_Can't you just tell me? Won't that help?" Derek questioned._

_Now it was Alexander's turn to shake his head as he racked his brain thoroughly – he honestly hadn't prepared for this._

"_I can't tell you her name, Derek... I can't. You have to use the memories you have of her to be able to remember it... that identification is important to the connection between your mind and your body."_

_Derek lowered his head, now idly picking at his shoelaces as his father continued pacing._

"_Really, you don't remember anything? She was your assistant, Derek... from nearly the first weeks that you became a doctor, this woman has been by your side all day every day. She's had such a devotion to you – she's followed you to hell and back... And you... nothing?"_

_The younger Stiles just shook his head._

"_The reason this isn't working..." Alexander started. "The reason it's not going the way it should, is because you're not remembering her the way you saw her while you were down there... she was more than just the girl at your side, Derek... you loved her with everything you had – she was your strength, your everything."_

_  
Derek looked up sadly at his father, his expression hopeless. "That's what you've said since the beginning... and that's why I have no idea why I can't remember feeling that."_

_He lowered his head again with a gentle sigh._

_His dad patted him gently on the back. "She's something special, Derek... I can't tell you much about her because it's all from my point of view, not yours... but, this is the first girl in all your life that you've ever fallen in love with. You were always so driven towards school that you never bothered with girls... and when you did, it never got that serious. You just never were the type to fall easily – that's why what you had with her had to have been something special. Try, Derek... just take a breath, and try to think of anything you can. Picture her face – can you think of anything else?"_

_Derek took a deep breath in and stared off into space, thinking as best he could but grew visibly frustrated after a short time. He just shook his head and looked down again. "I can't remember loving her – hell, I can't even remember her name..."_

"_Well, obviously you can't remember loving a person you know nothing about."_

"_I want to..." Derek offered, head never lifting. "I want to so bad – I mean, did you look at her...? She's the most beautiful woman I've ever seen... and to think, she cares that much about someone like me... the things she said about me and her..."_

_Alexander stopped. "Why wouldn't she care about you, Derek? You were as special to her as she was to you... and if I may say so myself, I think she has excellent taste."_

_Derek scoffed with a slight smile but it faded quickly, instead turning his eyes upward again. "Well, what can I do? I've come this far and I don't want to give up... but if she's the last piece of the puzzle, then I'm never going to be able to go back, am I? You said I needed something to go back for... she must be it, if I'm not back already..."_

_Alexander placed his hands on his hips and nodded slowly, his gaze diverted away from his son. "That's what I thought too, honestly... well, I still do. I just don't know why you can't remember anything about her... but the sad part about it is, I can't tell you anything..."_

_The brunette suddenly sat up slightly. "She said she was waiting for me to wake up because she had something to tell me... what's she going to tell me?"_

_His father smiled. "Oh, I couldn't ruin that for you... maybe that can be your motivation?"_

_Derek's eyes narrowed. "I'm serious... she said, she was waiting for me to wake up so she could tell me how she 'really felt' about me... is she going to tell me that she's in love with me too?"_

_Alexander just shrugged with a smirk, though it faded quickly. "We'll unfortunately just have to wait for her to come back so we can try to get you to remember her... that's the most important thing."_

_Derek's expression softened. "But... what if she doesn't come back?"_

_His father looked down at him and dropped his arms loosely to his sides, opting to take a seat next to his worried son._

"_Right now, Derek... you just have to have faith."_

--

The door to Derek Stiles' hospital room opened and doctors Rogers and Riemann strolled in, accompanied by Tyler, Sidney, and Derek's mother, who held onto the chief for dear life as she cried.

"Alright…" Dr. Rogers said softly. "All four of us have surgeries to attend to, but mine will be the only one short enough to allow doing this in a timely manner, so I'll be the one shutting down Derek's life support."

"I can't stay in here…" Elizabeth sniffled, removing herself from the room quietly.

Dr. Rogers' hands lifted from his pockets and he began to unplug several monitors not vital to Derek anymore.

"Right now I'm disconnecting all of the neurological monitors, including the ones that keep track of his coma scale standings, brain activity, and nerve function through his body. I'm also going to disconnect his feeding tube, leaving him with just his vital monitor, his IV, and the respirator. Later on today I'll come in and power down the respirator – if some of you would like to be in the room, you may, but only from afar… Do you have any questions?"

"Yeah…" Tyler began. "What are you going to do if he starts coming out of it as his respirator is powering down?"

"Well then we would…"

Dr. Rogers stopped, interrupted by his pager.

"Oh, my patient's condition has worsened – I'll be back after surgery!"

And without another word, the doctor bolted out of the room, leaving the two in silence.

"…Well that was a lot of help…" Tyler muttered, shaking his head and turning around. "How long is he going to be in surgery, Chief?"

Sidney looked at his watch. "Well, he's a half hour early, but the procedure is technically supposed to last somewhere in the neighborhood of two hours… so…"

"…we better start rounding everyone up, huh?" Tyler finished, closing his eyes with a sad sigh.

"I can't believe this is happening…" he whispered, his right arm holding around his stomach as his left reached up and gently pinched the bridge of his nose, his eyes still shut.

"It's not over yet, Dr. Chase…" Sidney said quietly, the statement failing to reassure him of that fact either. He patted Tyler's back twice and the surgeon snapped out of feeling ready to cry, following him out of the room.

Though they never thought it would happen, the time none of them had wanted to see had finally rolled around – staring them all head on.

It was time to say goodbye.

--

"_Wow..."_

_Having just watched the doctors speaking in his son's room, Alexander could do nothing but shake his head sadly as he looked over at his forlorn son, their thoughts mirroring one another. He grew surprised when Derek seemingly began to panic, rising to his feet with exasperation._

"_What the hell am I supposed to do now?!" he nearly shrieked, an uncharacteristic tone for the usually level-headed surgeon. "It's all over... just when I found something I wanted to fight for, they're letting me go?!"_

"_Relax, Derek… it's not over yet…"_

"_Oh, who am I kidding..." Derek continued, shaking his head and dropping his arms to a lifeless dangle at his sides. He plopped back down on the floor and crossed his legs. "This is the way it was supposed to be – I guess if anything it was nice to see the people that cared about me most before I had to go..."_

"_Derek, don't!"_

_Alexander knelt down and grabbed his son firmly by the shoulders, pulling him slightly forward to meet him face to face. "Do NOT give up yet – you have come so far since this whole thing started, and there is still time! Obviously if everyone is going to come in and say goodbye to you, you'll get to hear honest feelings from the people that are closest to you. It will trigger something... I KNOW it will... you just have to keep trying."_

"_Dad, I..."_

_Alexander's grip tightened and he gave a gentle shake, but his expression lightened up considerably._

"_If not for anyone else, Derek..." he started, a sad smile on his face. "Do it for me... do it for me, because I know that there is so much you have yet to be a part of down there. If it doesn't work, then I'd be more than happy to have you at my side, but my son... my son the master surgeon, he never gave up before – and I'll be damned if I'm going to let him start now."_

_Derek and Alexander both turned their heads as a figure stepped into the room, walking gingerly towards the side of the surgeon's bed._

"_What do you say, Derek...?" he asked, letting Derek's arms go and standing up, taking a step back. "Fight, or flight?"_

_Both the younger and the elder Stiles remained locked in a fierce stare until Derek took a deep breath and held out his hand, his father taking it with a smile and helping him to his feet._

"_That's my boy... let's do this."_

* * *

**Next chapter, the goodbyes. Stay tuned! :)**


	16. Goodbye

**Before I even say anything, let me apologize. See, remember when I wanted to split the last chapter? **

**...Well that's because this one is 13,000 words. (dodges rocks and flying projectiles)**

**Okay, two things you need to know:**

**A) Any information I give about respirators is completely made up. If you leave me something complaining about the lack of truth behind the respirator scene, I'm going to be irritated. It's for the sake of the story - deal, k?**

**B) ... I know I had something else to say, but I don't remember... crap.**

**Alright. Sad and completely depressing as it may be, it's time for us to say goodbye to our favorite surgeon. So, let's go do it.**

**Again, Derek and his father are in italics through the story. **

**This was sooo much work to put together. So, I hope you enjoy it.  
**

* * *

Leslie Sears closed the door gently behind her and walked into Derek's room, taking a seat at his bedside. She was quiet momentarily, but with a shaky voice began to speak.

"This whole journey has been so painful, Derek… not only realizing that you may never wake up, but watching just how much losing you is going to tear everyone apart. You wouldn't believe how much this is impacting everyone – how much people all over the nation, even the _world _have sent us letters and even showed up here to tell their hero goodbye…"

She trailed off, realizing that this was about just the two of them at the moment, not about anyone else.

"Well, they're telling us that apparently, now it's our turn…" she restarted. "I don't want to believe them, because I never thought it would come to this… Even though we know you much better than those other people out there, funny thing is, we're no different. Even though we worked side by side, you're still our hero, Derek… you are."

Leslie sighed, running a hand through her teal hair as she leaned towards Derek more and wiped a tear from her cheek.

"Do you remember, Derek…" she started, reminiscent smile shakily stretching her lips. "…when you first got here, and you somehow convinced Tyler to ask me out on a date?"

She smiled and lowered her head, hands fidgeting with themselves.

"Even though we had worked together long before you came, you were still the one to light a fire under him, and I don't know why I never thanked you for whatever you did to convince him… to this day he still won't tell me, isn't that funny?"

Leslie sighed.

"Whether it had to do with work or you were helping put the love of my life and I together, you've always meant so much to me Derek… you always gave everything you had to see other people happy – just like a true hero… A-And I just wish that I c-could've done more for you, told you that more often…" she paused, her voice cracking as tears became more generous.

"…Or have done the same for you and A-A…" she whispered, the first sob breaking through and cutting off the nurse's name. "You're not even gone and she's already lost without you, D-Derek… you can see it in everything she does, in every word she says… even in her eyes."

_Derek turned toward his father. "She's talking about her – she's talking about my assistant...!" he said, trying to take a step forward in his excitement though it got him nowhere. "She was going to say her name...! Why did you stop, Leslie?!"_

_  
Alexander shook his head. "I know you're trying to get her to hear you, but she can't, Derek..."_

Leslie rose to her feet, now sobbing as she reached forward and touched Derek's hand gently for the last time, biting her lower lip firmly.

"I-If you can hear me, Derek… you need to f-fight like you've done since the day I met you. If not for yourself, d-do it for us, because w-we'll be nothing without you here."

Pulling her hand back into her chest Leslie sighed and stepped back from the bed, taking a last look at him.

"_Wait, don't go yet...!" Derek pleaded, looking at his father for help who simply stared on at the girl in the room._

"It'll never be the s-same again without you Derek…" she stammered out, finding it near-impossible to speak. "And even though we didn't know each other that long, I'll be grateful for the rest of my life for h-having known you… t-thank you, for everything… and, g-good… goodbye, Derek…"

"_Why did she leave?" Derek asked, flinching slightly. "And why does my head hurt so bad again?"_

"_You're beginning to feel a connection again, Derek..." Alexander said, a graveness to his tone. "This is only the beginning – remember what I told you last time, you have to stay strong..."_

"_But, I just want to know her name... that's all I need...!" he exclaimed._

"_You'll find it out – she'll be in here later, I'm sure of it... but for now, you have another visitor..."_

The usually unfazed director of Caduceus walked into the room next, hiding an unmistakable tremble in his hands by opting to slide them into his pockets, feet somehow carrying him toward Derek even though he really wanted to walk away.

"I was never a very religious man, Derek…" he started. "But through this whole ordeal, I find myself praying all the time… it's the only thing that keeps me sane anymore – especially while I think about how this could've possibly happened to all of you – how horrible things could possibly happen to such good people… it's literally eating me alive to think about it."

Sidney Kasal stood just a foot away from Derek's bedside now, unable to keep his eyes on the fallen surgeon for too long lest the sight overtake him.

"I've done this once before…" he started again, lowering his head. "I don't talk about it much because it was the most painful moment of my life, but this was exactly how I stood next to my wife's bedside every night right up until the day she died… I said goodbye to her before she left, and like you she couldn't hear me – but, I said goodbye anyway…"

The chief inhaled deeply, his eyes closing as he fought to contain his emotions.

"Derek, like everyone else says, you truly have been our hero… I felt so bad nearly every time I had to call you because it seemed as though every time you had a vacation or I could finally give you a day off to go do something nice for yourself, I was turning right back around and calling you in again… And even though you used to whine about it a little at the beginning, you were always here… _always_. Every emergency, every question we had, every threat or dangerous mission, there you were, ready and willing to go wherever you had to in order to personally secure a safer world for everyone to live in – it was your dream to live in a world without incurable diseases, and I thought that with you fighting for it, we'd get there one day… You've done so much for so many, and I wish there was something we could do for you here… I wish I could just shake you and wake you up – maybe if I told you that you had a patient that needed you, you would?" he joked, smirking. "Whenever it was for a patient you did anything you had to, but when it was for yourself you never cared – you were the epitome of selfless, Derek, and truth is I'm scared because I know we'll never find someone like you again… and I know for that reason, I'm not even going to try to – you're one of a kind."

Sidney stepped back and looked at Derek again, a fleeting glance at best as he whirled around and walked out the door, promptly replaced by his twin.

"_I knew there was one more of that guy..." Derek said with a pained smile, having not seen Greg since his mind had woken up. He instantly recognized his old mentor as the complete opposite of the man who had just left the room, the deeper connection with his unconscious form sending him reeling backwards as the pain began to trickle from his feet up into his legs, slowly spreading through each of them._

"I don't care what's happened to you, Derek…" Greg started, face stern as he walked towards the bedridden surgeon. "I don't care – because in three seconds, you're going to wake your ass up and get out of that bed, because that is an _order_… do I make myself clear?"

When the young man refused to move in any way, Greg just sighed, dropping his head.

"And here I thought that was actually going to work…" he muttered, lowering to sit in the chair at Derek's bedside.

"Derek Stiles, you have this talent for making other people scared for you. Whether you're pushing your body to the limits by using the Healing Touch to save a life, you're going days without a decent night of sleep, or you're inches from death, you really know how to make us worry like hell… And funny enough, every time you wake up the first thing to come out of your mouth is asking whoever you see first how others are doing… it's reasons like that why you're the greatest doctor I've ever had the privilege to know."

_Alexander stepped to his son. "What's his name, Derek... tell me his name."_

_Derek grit his teeth and nearly closed his eyes, stopping himself before he made that fatal mistake again._

"_Greg Kasal."_

_He barely got the words out before he groaned loudly, hunching over as two electrifying jolts of pain shot through his legs, nearly dropping him to the ground. A gentle hand stroked his back and though it didn't help in dulling the pain, Derek took comfort in his father's gesture, knowing that no matter how hard it was, someone had faith in him that he could make it through this. He straightened himself out as best he could and stared forward, listening intently._

The steady beeping of the vital monitor floated through the air as Greg paused, his hands clasping in front of him gently.

"I've never told another living soul this, but I figure you should know…" he restarted, letting a deep breath out. "I don't know why I've never told anyone – it's nothing to be ashamed about in the least… but, I really look up to you, Derek. Even though I trained you from the day you were a little puny kid, it's hard for me not to admire the man you turned out to be… a man of incredible determination, strength, and unbeatable character. And even though I was your mentor, I found that you've done much more for me than you say I've done for you – not only did you save my life, but watching you has inspired me to become a better doctor… to give my patients everything I have to possibly give."

Finding it hard to continue on as it was the second goodbye he had said in such a short time, Greg rose from his chair and patted Derek's shoulder with a sad smile.

"I just have to thank you again for everything you've done for me, Derek… I wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for you – and I'm very sorry that it takes you in this situation for me to swallow my pride and admit it. You're the best there is, kid… and don't think for a second I'll ever forget you."

"_Wow..." Derek just whispered softly, turning towards his father with a continual pained expression. "...people really think of me like that? Even the guy that trained me looks up to me?"_

_His father nodded. "Listen Derek, because they'll all tell you themselves..." he began, motioning forward as another person stepped into the room, replacing Greg._

Victor Niguel paused at the door, shaking his inky hair out of his eyes as he held up a hand, ready to level with the unconscious surgeon.

"Before I even say anything, this isn't going to be some big mushy-gushy spectacle because even though I think you're pretty cool, fact is, I like girls."

Victor paused and his arrogant smirk washed into a frown – Derek was the one that usually laughed at his smartass remarks, and the silence just solidified the fact that this was really happening… he was really dying.

"Because of the fact that you're in a coma and I know you won't tell a living soul, I can tell you that I've always liked you, Derek… and before you get the wrong idea, I mean it in the least homosexual way possible. I had to put up my normal front a lot of the time and pretend that I wasn't impressed with the work you performed, but it was all a lie – you fucking rocked at everything you put your hands on, and even though I played it off as nothing, watching you operate is the most impressed I've ever been in my life at anything."

Victor paused, smirk on his lips again.

"Now, as for the puzzles… that's a different story. God was that hilarious, though…" he said, letting out a small chuckle as he remembered the usually polite surgeon swearing up one side and down the other as he forcefully banged around the pieces of the puzzle Victor had given him.

_Derek chuckled slightly and then bit his lip hard, stifling a groan. His father was instantly at his side, trying to figure out the reason for another jolt of pain._

"_T-Those p-puzzles..." he said with a pained laugh. "...I've never been so close to killing someone on purpose."_

_Alexander joined him in laughter._

"Truth is, I really admire everything you did for Caduceus, for us, and for your patients… I don't know how you managed to keep going, well how any of us did for that matter, but I never saw you give up once. Not once… and I respect that more than you know, Derek."

The researcher sighed again.

"Thanks for putting up with me, even though I was an asshole to you a lot of the time… I was always keeping up appearances, but I know just by the way you stayed unafraid of me unlike everyone else, that you knew I really didn't think you were half-bad… because you weren't. Thanks for all the times you came into say hey even when I was rude, because I really did appreciate it… Honestly, you were my favorite guy on the whole staff… which, when I think about it isn't hard because they're all either retarded or Tyler, and by which I mean double retarded…"

Victor chuckled. "If you're not around I seriously don't know who's going to step in to make sure I don't kill him, so chances are you might be seeing him real soon…"

"_With the way those two are together, I'd take that bet..." Derek joked, gritting his teeth as memories of the two doctors irritating one another flashed through his mind._

He had no problem joking his way through his goodbye, but found that with a deep breath and a painful thump in his chest, he knew what he had to do.

"Thank you, Derek… you were a hero in everything you did, and Caduceus will never be the same without you."

"…Oh, and now would be a good time to, you know, wake up, if you can…?"

Victor sighed, his request answered with silence.

"See ya, man…"

**--**

A short time passed, and the door to Derek's room swung open and a familiar blonde doctor came charging into the room with a smile on his face, his hands clapping loudly.

"Alright man, I have to admit you got us all… but the joke's over, time to get up!"

When met with silence, Tyler just approached Derek's bed closer and clapped his hands again, reaching forward and shaking Derek gently. "Seriously man, get up…! Let's go – I'm tired of taking your work load… you can repay me by waking up and maybe doin' some of my paperwork… come on…"

Silence.

Tyler's smile dropped and his face contorted into a look of panic as he all but dropped into the chair at his best friend's bedside, reaching forward and gently shaking him again.

"C-Come on, dude… this seriously isn't funny anymore…" he explained, nearly choking on his words as he dropped the happy-go-lucky act he held the entire time Derek had been in his coma, finally allowing his fear of the inevitable come to the surface. "Y-You've gotta get up man, you're my best f-friend…!" he exclaimed, feeling a very uncharacteristic prick in his eyes… a prick he felt last when his baby sister nearly died of GUILT, saved only by the man who lay dying in front of him.

Instead of faking anymore, Tyler Chase allowed himself to slip into unscrupulous honesty and buried his head in his hands, unsure of what else could be done in that moment but cry. Somehow managing to hold in sobs, he just poured his heart out to his best friend, feelings of gratitude that were rarely conveyed thrown out in one mess of words.

"_In the length of time I've known Tyler, I've never seen him like this before..." Derek mused. "The only time he was ever close was when he thought he was going to lose A-Amy... ngh!"_

"_Its okay, Derek... just breathe. Keep going, you're doing great..." Alexander responded, patting his son's back again._

"I-I thought you were g-gonna make it, man… I never thought you were gonna lose to this - you never lose to _anything_…! I know from the start that this was always a possibility, but I never considered it to be… because no matter what the odds were, I've watched time and time again as we all thought it was hopeless, only to have you prove us all wrong at the last minute. You've built up my confidence time and time again to make me believe that no matter what happened, you were always going to prevail – and that's why as you're, what… two hours away from potentially _dying_, I'm just realizing that this might be it! You've given everyone here hope and you always followed through on your promises, and now when we need it the most – when we're going to lose the person that means more than anything else out there to us, you choose to let us down? You choose NOW, Derek?!"

Voice now raised to a yell Tyler's chest heaved with his quickened breaths as he calmed himself down, succumbing to another set of tears as he brushed a hand through his hair, refusing to look at his friend.

"She needs you, Derek… I know she's trying to hold it together now, but if you d-die man… if you let go, it'll destroy her... you have no idea. I've been trying to help, to watch over her, but she needs _you_… not me."

_Derek's eyes shot open wide, forgetting the pain temporarily as he looked on at his best friend. "Who?! Who is she?! C'mon Tyler... keep talking!"_

Stopping again as he wiped his face, Tyler took a deep breath again and continued.

"I seriously have no idea what I'm going to do without you, Derek… you were my best friend in college, and we just picked it up again when you started working here. You stopped me from making horrible mistakes, saved my baby sister's life, and convinced me to ask out the woman who turned out to be the love of my life… well, not so much convinced as you purposely made a bet with me you knew I was going to lose so I had to ask her out, but I know she'll be really upset if I told her that, so I just said that you convinced me to ask her out instead… thanks for never telling her that by the way…" he said with a small laugh, it slowly turning into a sad sigh.

"_Yeah, no problem..." Derek said icily, after fighting away the smile that tried to creep across his face at the memory. "All that, and you still can't even say this girl's name..."_

"I still can't believe this is happening – I refuse. Because even though I know it's happening, I still can't let myself accept it… I can't accept the fact that I'm not going to s-see you anymore, goof off with you until we piss off everyone in sight, c-call you on the weekends…"

He stopped, emotions overtaking him before he thought of something.

"Victor's gonna murder me without you here, dude…!" he joked, laughing through the tears that poured generously down his cheeks.

"But really, I can't believe this… I just, can't. And that's why, until it really happens and probably for a long time after, I won't believe it… However, what I will do is tell you how important you are to me… how much you've taught me, how you've saved my ass on so many occasions, how I know that when you wake up, we're going to be best f-friends until the day much later on in life, one of us croaks. Which reminds me again, I'm serious, if you're not here to intervene, I'll be joining you very quickly via Victor's wrath."

Tyler stopped again with another small chuckle, growing serious as he felt panic set in once again, quickly squelching it.

"It's just, not happening man. You're going to be fine. But… if for some r-reason, you're not… I just want you to know that I'll work the rest of my life for your goal – I'll work myself to the bone to wipe disease off this planet, because I _know_ that if you survive this, we'll see that day one day… I know we will. You're too talented and determined NOT to make that happen… So, as a promise to you because of all you've done for me, I'll do everything I possibly can, work until the day I die, to bring your d-dream to life…"

He paused for a moment to lower his head again, resting his hands on his forehead as he took in deep shuttering breaths, refusing to open his eyes again as he continued.

"Just in case, and even though I know I won't need it… I just want to say thank you, Derek. I know it's not enough for everything you've done, but every morning I wake up and every night before I go to bed, I'll be thanking you… you changed my life, and I'll never forget it. Ever – as long as I live."

Rising to his feet he took a last pained look at Derek as his hands slid gently into his pockets, letting the tears falling continue to stain his cheeks as a sign that he was in no way ashamed of them.

"I love you man, I really do… and that's why you can't do this."

He sighed sadly.

"But in case you do… goodbye, Derek – I hope you finally get the peace that you've long deserved."

Tyler turned his back to his friend before whirling around again quickly.

"But, just so you know, you're not dying – not like this. That was a 'just in case' kind of thing… really. You're not dying." he said very matter of factly, shaking a stern finger before he turned around again and walked towards the door.

"Holy shit I need a drink…"

"_Why does this have to be so hard...?" _

_Derek's sudden question caused his father to whirl around in surprise, wondering what brought about the sudden contemplation._

"_Why does it hurt so bad? Why, do I have to sit here and watch the people that love me be devastated? Why... can't I remember the one person I cared most about?"_

_Alexander walked forward and placed a hand on his son's shoulder, smiling sadly._

"_Happiness doesn't come easily, Derek... life is hard." he started, just as another person walked into the room. "And we don't come to appreciate things just by having them handed to us... if this process was easy, you'd never get to see how much you mean to these people, and how much they mean to you... you'd never see why it's worth it to go back."_

_Derek glanced at him momentarily and then back at the doctor in the room with a sigh._

"_And besides..." Alexander continued once more. "... you'll never understand how much something means to you... until you truly have to fight for it."_

Robert Hoffman walked gingerly into Derek's room and turned around, refusing to look at him until the door was fully closed. As it clicked shut he was alone with his thoughts and the surgeon to whom he owed so much… so much that he couldn't bear to turn around right away, instead standing facing the closed door with his eyes shut and head bowed in deep thoughts. Thoughts of how strongly his ethics were being tested – thoughts of guilt and of responsibility, thoughts of knowing that his decision to wait just one short week was going to cost the greatest young doctor the world had ever known a chance to live another day.

Thoughts of where his priorities truly lied.

Did they rest with something so precious as a human life, or with his obligation as a head in the figure of medicine?

If he called it off, stopped the order and let Derek be monitored for longer, how would his decision affect his and Caduceus's reputation? Would he come under scrutiny for his actions or would they be deemed justifiable?

This was Derek's best chance to live, as the best neurology team in possibly the world had agreed upon awhile ago – but if there was a chance he would die, could he really let that happen…? Could he defy medical orders based on a personal relationship and still call himself a doctor?

"No matter what I do I've failed." he simply mumbled under his breath, turning his head to cast a sideways glance over his shoulder, though he did not turn around at first.

"Every possible outcome ends in failure… every single one."

With a sigh Robert Hoffman turned around slowly, forcing himself to keep his eyes on the man lying in the bed as he took a step forward, the sight eating him away inside.

"It doesn't matter how many years I've been a doctor, how many times I've been faced with the most difficult decisions I've ever had to make in my life… It doesn't matter, because nothing in my nearly forty years in practice could prepare me for something like this, Derek… and I hope you understand the nightmares and the demons I've been plagued with every night. The way I feel when I go to sleep at night not feeling as though I'm worthy to live anymore – that this should be the easiest decision in the world and yet I'm faltering…"

Robert stopped talking and simply walked straight to Derek's bedside, taking a moment to look down at him as the beeps and chimes of the various machines flooded through his brain, a pained crinkle evident on his forehead.

"I've lived my life but yours is just beginning… and that's why I've decided that even if it costs me my license to practice – even if I have to turn this facility over into the hands of another person, that I won't let you die, Derek. You saved my life and this is the least I can do for you – I know that it's the right thing to do…"

Trailing off, Robert closed his eyes again and backed away from Derek's bed, opening his eyes but keeping them turned towards the ground.

"…and I don't know why I can't do it." he whispered. "I have no idea what's stopping me – I'm no doctor… I'm a coward. Part of being in charge means following the rules even when it's the most unpopular option… and I can't help but feel that by doing that, I'm killing you myself…"

He stopped and looked away, for good this time.

"I… can't do this."

Unable to take being in the room any longer Robert just turned on his heel and walked towards the door quickly, all but throwing it open as he paced into the hallway and paused to take a deep breath. The realization of his weak will had destroyed the respect he once had for himself and made the air in Derek's room completely suffocating – so much so that he hadn't even stayed to say goodbye, just simply leaving instead.

But even more devastating than remaining in that room was the sight he was greeted with when he emerged – all of Derek's loved ones staring him down, the eyes that had once looked upon him with reverence now shining fiercely with betrayal and disgust.

Dropping his gaze to the floor he held his breath as he felt his heart shatter in his chest, legs carrying him away from the sight as fast as he possibly could.

_Derek and his father stood absolutely silent, even long after the surgeon had retreated from the room._

"_...I had no idea any of this was even happening... poor Dr. Hoffman, I know he must feel terrible..." Derek said gently._

"_It's not his job to bring you out of this Derek..." Alexander replied, a harshness to his voice. "And even though I think what he's allowing to happen is beyond disgusting, the fact of the matter is that you are the only person that can save yourself... nobody else. It is you that has to remember, you that has to fight, you that has to choose to go back... he should be stepping in to at least give you more time after all you've done for him, in my own personal opinion, but there's not much that's going to change now..."_

_He trailed off and Derek watched as his face lit up, followed by a flush of sadness that made him realize only one person could have just walked through that door, and one person only._

"_Elizabeth..." he whispered softly, eyes shining. Derek watched him with a smile and turned forward towards his mother, reluctant to hear what she had to say._

Elizabeth Stiles walked into her son's room already losing the battle with her emotions as she moved to his bedside and sat down in the chair next to it, tears quickly forming in her eyes and spilling down her cheeks.

With a tremble in her hand she reached forward and took her son's hand in her own, rubbing her thumb over the back of it as her hand reached into her purse and pulled out two pieces of paper – one plain white, one a decorated piece of construction paper.

"My Derek…" she started quietly, struggling to speak through her tears. "…I really hoped I would never be here again, that I can say. Losing your father was the darkest point of my life and I just know that I'm headed there again… But strangely, I'm not who I'm worried about right now – there's someone who needs you more than I do."

Referring of course to Angie, Elizabeth allowed a sad smile to grace her lips as her free hand placed the papers on his bed and then wiped her face, fingers curling in front of her mouth.

"She needs you like I needed your father, so I know exactly how she feels in this moment, having to say goodbye to someone she cares so deeply for. If you're not going to hang on for yourself or any of the rest of us, don't leave her, Derek. If you wake up, I know that in her you've found a love to last a lifetime… I can tell you that without a doubt."

"_She's talking about that girl...! Why does everyone want to screw around with me – is anyone going to tell me her name?!" Derek exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air in frustration. "I just want you to say her name, Mom... please, just say it!"_

"I am prouder of you than I could ever express in words. I know that I tell you nearly every time we spoke, but it still doesn't feel like enough… you are the world's hero, and my hero as well. I feel so proud to have raised the man that has saved so many, and even though I tell you how proud of you I am for that, I never really thanked you for saving me…"

_Derek stopped in his constant berating and looked at his father. "What is she talking about?"_

_Alexander nodded sadly and motioned forward. "Listen..."_

"When your father died I was a mess, Derek. The days you started to spend more time with your grandmother were the days that I literally couldn't pull myself out of bed… I always tried to be strong for you but when I knew I couldn't be I couldn't bear to let you see me like I was. I would lie in bed and cry all day, refuse to eat anything for days, but yet throw up from being so overcome by grief… I was in a sad state…"

She sighed.

"…But one day, you walked into my bedroom, forgetting that I told you to ride the bus home to your grandma's that day. I remember you just walked to me, burst into tears and crawled in my lap, crying a-about how much you missed your daddy and asking me why G-God had to take him away…"

Stopping her story Elizabeth wiped the generously falling tears from her eyes as she relived a previously unshared memory with her dying son.

_Derek stumbled backward harshly – reliving a memory so painful brought him even closer to his consciousness, though he failed to cross the threshold. Instead he gripped onto his head tightly as the pain radiated through his skull, desperately trying to keep his eyes open._

"…A-And for the first time in what h-had been a long time, I just held you in my arms and rocked you, and cried with you… you made me realize that even though I needed your dad more than you know, you needed me in that same way. I finally saw that it was alright to feel that way, and that I had everything to live for a-as long as I had you… and it's for that reason I pray s-she doesn't know that pain – it shattered me Derek, and it took me a long time to pick myself up again…"

"_You pray WHO doesn't know that pain?!" Derek shouted, gripping onto his head with both hands as memories from his childhood poured back to him, his body in incredulous pain. "Say it!! Just SAY HER DAMN NAME...!"_

"…Truth is, there still isn't a day that passes that I don't think about your father and wish he was still here to see what a wonderful man you've grown up to be… and while that's true, I don't think it's your time to be with him yet – p-please, if you can hear me… j-just wake up, Derek… I c-can't lose both of my boys."

When her request was met with silence Elizabeth lowered her head and cried softly, her hand squeezing Derek's tightly.

"I was s-so strong for you when he died… but when I saw that you were starting to be okay, that's when I lost it…" she began again, lifting the papers on his bed into her hands. "A-And that's when you came home with this poem… the poem you wrote for me when you were just a little boy… it was so simple, but it meant so much – and I know I never told you this, but it's been in my nightstand drawer since the day you gave it to me. Y-You have no idea how I relied on it and on you to keep me going, Derek… and until now, I regrettably don't think I ever told you… It's funny how we take the people we love for granted until its too late…"

She wiped her face quickly again and looked down at the hand holding her son's.

"But I wrote you a poem of my own… I thought I was going to be able to read it to you but I know I can't…"

She turned to the side and wiped her eyes gently, placing the note on the nightstand next to his bed.

"…so I'll just leave it on your nightstand. Maybe it'll help you as much as it helped me…"

Standing up, Elizabeth Stiles kissed her son's forehead gently and shrank back to stand at his bedside, her arms hugged close to her body as she cried.

_Derek felt terrible as he watched his mother cry so generously, remembering the same reaction from her when they had lost his father. With a heavy heart and a great degree of surprise, Derek watched as his father stepped forward and to his mother and embraced her in a big hug, though she couldn't feel him or hug him back. Alexander gently held her for just a fleeting moment, until she said goodbye to her son again and he returned to Derek's side. A brief silence passed between them as they watched her leave the room, both nearly broken-hearted._

"_How could you do that...? How could you go to her like that?" Derek asked, full of curiosity at what had just happened._

"_I'm dead, Derek..." Alexander replied flatly. "You're not, that's why you're stuck here..."_

_His tone now with a slight harshness to it, Alexander sighed and remained with his eyes forward, hands on his hips firmly._

"_I just want you to understand..." he began, voice soft yet commanding as Derek turned his back to the room to look him in the eyes. "That all these people... these people who love you more than anything, the people that consumed your life while you were still alive... they need you, Derek. And did you see the way I just held your mother? That's as close as I'll ever be to her, ever again, because I'm dead...!"_

_His voice rose sharply and Derek stumbled backward slightly, surprised at the outburst._

"_Do you have ANY idea how painful it is to watch someone you love with all your heart go through something like this and not be there for them? To go to hold them while they cry and have your arms just pass through, all the while knowing that they have no idea you're even there?! To see from up here the nightmares and the times they call out your name, but you can do nothing but watch them cry?! You have NO idea what that's like, Derek...!"_

"_I-I know I don't..." he replied shakily._

"_Well if you don't get your act together, you're about to figure it out!" Alexander replied harshly. "And when you die for real, that's when you'll remember everything... but by then, it'll be too late, and you're stuck here. You're stuck merely watching the lives of those you love instead of being a part of them... and I know you, Derek, because I've been watching you and that girl for a long time – it would __**kill**__ you, just like it does me every single day I see your mother and I'm not by her side..."_

"_But what can I DO?!" Derek suddenly yelled. "I can't remember a damn thing about her! You think I want this to happen to me?! I want to remember who she is!"_

_Alexander sighed and paused for a moment. "I didn't mean to get harsh with you, Derek..." he said, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand as he took a deep breath in and out. "...I just don't want you to ever have to go through this... I want you to experience that love firsthand, instead of keeping it as a vague memory. I want you to remember her, because I know she's the ticket to you going back home... but, like I said before – you need to fight for it yourself. Just, hang onto her every word – listen to the things she says, because something HAS to trigger... I just know it."_

"_And how do you know that?" Derek asked gingerly. "What if I can't remember...?"_

_Alexander smirked sadly and placed his hand on Derek's shoulder, giving him a stern but loving gaze._

"_If you honestly can't remember after all of this, Derek... then I'll be glad to have you here by my side."_

--

The heated angry talk about Dr. Hoffman between Leslie, Tyler, Victor, Dr. Clarks, Sidney, and Greg ceased immediately the moment that Mrs. Stiles walked out of Derek's room, crying so hard she could barely stand. Stephen helped her over to a chair and sat next to her as she buried her face in his shoulder, while the others looked on and became emotional all over again.

With his arm around Leslie, suddenly Tyler sat up and looked at the clock, his eyes glazed over with unfallen tears.

"What's the matter?" Leslie whispered as he stood up slowly, wiping tears from her own eyes.

Tyler sighed gently. "I can't believe I didn't notice before… don't worry, I'll be back in a flash."

As he gingerly stepped out of sight of everyone in the room, Tyler broke into a run down the hall, his mind having triggered one thing.

They had a half hour left…

…and Angie was nowhere in sight.

--

With the lights off and seated on a plush couch, Angie wiped tears away from her eyes with a Kleenex as she flipped through the pages of an old photo album. There was barely enough light in the room for it to be seen, but with every page that went by the nurse was easily able to identify the smile on Derek's face in each of the pictures she accompanied him in.

It wasn't a surprise to her though – no matter where they were, his smile always seemed to light up her life.

"…A-And now this is all I have…" she whispered quietly to herself, vision blurred by another round of tears.

Suddenly but not surprisingly, a light trickled into the room from the hallway, as the door had been opened.

"…Angie?"

She sniffled once and looked up to see a silhouette of Tyler Chase now standing in hers and Derek's office, the serious expression on his face played up by the shadows that adorned it. She failed to reply as he closed the door behind him and slowly shuffled to her, taking a seat on the couch beside her.

"…I guess I should've picked a better hiding spot, huh?" she joked, giggling once as he shared her smile. But instead of taking it any further Tyler just reached over and grabbed the photo album from her lap, scooting closer to her so that they could both flip through it together. Silence passed between the two though tears were falling, and as they reached the last page of the album, the picture of Derek and Angie together on the day GUILT had been officially defeated, Tyler paused on it and sighed softly, taking that moment to speak.

"He can't do it alone."

Surprised by the confusing words he had chosen as his first of the conversation, Angie turned her head towards him with a slight tilt. "What do you mean?"

Tyler looked down at the picture again, pointing to the two of them. "This… this picture right here… this is how I know you two. Always together, side by side, nothing coming in between you… ever. This is the reason we were able to do what we did, not only against medical terrorism but during this whole situation as well – because we always stuck by each other, no matter what."

"And this…" he continued. "This is no exception, Angie… you and I both know because he's said it before that he couldn't have done all of this without you. You were always his source of strength, and the time he needs you the most is the time that you can't give up on him."

Angie blinked her tears away, sniffling. "I know, but…"

"No buts." Tyler said softly, without even the slightest hint of malice. "There can't be any buts Angie, because this is it. This could potentially be the last time you see Derek alive, and even though it'll be undeniably hard if he dies today, the best thing you can do for him is to hold his hand right to the very end. Be there for him in the way that he deserves… and give him the goodbye you deserve to give him."

Eyes locked, Angie began to cry and leaned into Tyler, who welcomed her fully and embraced her tightly, rocking slowly back and forth.

"…I just can't watch him die, Tyler…" she whispered. "I can't watch it happen, because then it's real – I can't lose him, because I love him…"

"Then don't lose him…" Tyler said gently. "Go down and fight for him, like I always knew you would…"

She stayed settled in Tyler's arms briefly before she sprang up, looking at the clock.

"What time were they supposed to cut him off?!" she cried frantically, busting out the door as she realized how long they had been up there.

_Two minutes left…_

"We're running out of time, let's go!" Tyler said as he grabbed Angie's hand and pulled her along, the two of them nearly flying down the stairs.

…_and Derek Stiles…_

"What if we're t-too late?" Angie cried, emotions beginning to overwhelm her as she struggled to push on.

…_would be no more._

--

"_She's not coming...!" Derek exclaimed, feeling as though he was going to cry as his stinging eyes stared at the clock in his hospital room, his body still motionless. Only two minutes remained before the doctors would be in to disconnect him from his life support, and the woman in question was the only one that had failed to visit him during the countdown._

"_No, Derek... don't worry. She'll be here – she will." Alexander said, comforting his son as best he could as he came apart at the seams. Even he wasn't sure that she would come to see him, and that worried him to no end._

"_I'm going to die...!" Derek chortled, throwing his hands up in the air as he flinched from the radiating pain in his body. "After all this – after I realize that I truly want to go back, I can't..."_

"_Yes you can, Derek..." Alexander said with a slight smirk. "But, it's all on you now..."_

"_What do you mean?" Derek asked solemnly, finding his answer when he was grabbed by the shoulders and whirled around forcefully. A bright smile swept his face as he spotted the blonde nurse standing in his room, the door clicking shut behind her._

"_...She came." he said with a smile, turning to face his father who just nodded. _

"_She sure did... now listen..."_

--

Angie shrank into the seat at Derek's bedside and took ahold of his hand as she did nearly every time she had visited him since he had first come out of surgery. Unlike all the other times she had spent at his bedside drowning in her own naivety and false hope, Angie knew that this time… this time, was way different.

And different as it may have been, the gesture in and of itself didn't change one bit – her hands still protectively held his, the only difference between now and then the tight squeeze she gave along with it.

"…I thought this was it."

Her words came out as a gentle whisper and she failed to even look up at him, instead tracing her thumb over the back of his hand gently.

"…You and me… I-I thought that we were it – I thought we were _invincible_…"

A tear spilled down her cheek but she failed to wipe it away, instead letting the pain crushing her from the inside-out come to the surface.

"Everywhere I've gone since we've started together, you've been there. Everywhere you've been, I've been right by your side… I-I guess… I guess I was stupid to believe that we would actually end up together – not everything works out the way you thought it would, now does it?"

"_No..." Derek muttered softly. "Don't say that – there's still a chance... just, give me something – anything..."_

Angie sighed. "We just… have done everything together, Derek. And for some reason I always thought that anytime I would look to my side, you'd be standing there, because you always have been…"

She sniffled, her emotions visibly getting the best of her.

"…A-And now what am I supposed to do when I t-turn around and you're not there, Derek? What now?! How can I possibly g-get up and keep going everyday, knowing that the one person I wanted to s-share my life with is gone?!"

_Derek covered his mouth with his hand and took a big breath inward as he felt his eyes start to sting. Here in front of him was someone that he had apparently loved... someone that was supposed to be the most important person in his life, and he was watching as she fell apart because of him... instead of being the one to put her back together._

"_It'll be okay..." he whispered, trying to fight back his own reaction to her tears. "...I promise I can make it better if you just let me – give me something... anything, please... and I promise, I'll be there for you..."_

Angie was sobbing now, Derek's hand pressed softly into her cheek as she nuzzled it gently, desperate to be as close to him as she possibly could while the last seconds of his life ticked away.

"I c-can't imagine only getting to see your smile in pictures… o-only getting to talk to you when I visit your g-grave… o-only getting to be with you in my d-dreams…!"

Suddenly, the pair of glossed-over green eyes turned up fiercely at the unconscious man, a harsh tone in her previously calm voice.

"This ISN'T how it w-was supposed to be…!" she suddenly cried out, her shaky voice hindering the firm tone she had sent the statement off with. "It was n-never supposed to turn out like this… we were s-supposed to be together, D-Derek! You're not supposed to be d-dy…"

She cut herself off to catch her breath, hyperventilation paralyzing her for the moment.

"Do you have ANY idea how incredibly **selfish **you're being?! This isn't about you! This is about us – the people who need you…! The p-people that care about you, and need you to keep going…! A-And even those people… they d-don't need you like I need you, D-Derek, they never did! And I k-know I was awful at showing it, but I can't keep going if you're not here…!"

"_Then let me be there!" Derek replied in a shout, tears freely falling down his cheeks. "Fight for me...! Fight for u-us, give me something... PLEASE!"_

Angie raised her head up and stared at him through her anguished sobs, words barely intelligible. "You said you loved me, Derek…! You said that you loved me… and if you really l-love me like you s-say you do, you w-won't g-give up like this! You won't… please, you c-can't…! You said that you loved me… You said it! You SAID that you L-LOVED ME, Derek! YOU S-SAID YOU LOVED ME!"

"_And I MEANT IT!" he replied to her as he watched her lose it, his lungs ready to tear as he screamed to his full capacity. "Obviously I loved you, but now I can't even remember your DAMN NAME! You've gotta help me! You've got to do something!"_

"Y-You said you loved me…" she whispered again, burying her face in the side of his bed, her hand still firmly gripping his. She took a moment to collect herself and then picked her tear-stained face up to look at him once again, now gently resting her cheek against his leg.

"_What do I do?!" Derek asked frantically, looking over at his father who just stared at him wide-eyed and without an answer. "She's not giving me anything I can work with, Dad... the doctor is going to be here any minute..."_

"…I r-regret not telling you before you got shot..." she continued, unaware that the man who had been carefully watching her this whole time had stopped dead in his tracks after that comment.

"_The day I got shot..." The surgeon paused. "...what was she trying to tell me then?"_

"_How she really feels, Derek..." Alexander replied with a small smirk as Derek just turned his attention back to her._

"…I regret not letting you know, b-being afraid that maybe you didn't feel the same way. I honestly hate myself… I feel like I'm t-too late, Derek…"

"_But, you're not too late...!" he defended. "It doesn't matter what happened before – just tell me now!! Say it – I know you want to, just say it!"_

"I-I'm not going to say the words until you wake up because I want to wait until I can look you in the eyes… but I've felt the same way for so long, Derek. And that's why I've spent every single day by your side, waiting for you to wake up – you mean everything to me…" she explained, her voice cracking again as she nuzzled his hand with her cheek. "…P-Please, Derek… wake up. Wake up before they take you away from me…"

"_They won't take me away... not if you don't let them." he replied adamantly, knowing she couldn't hear him but still taking solace in speaking to her._

"Just give me something, Derek… one sign. One sign and I won't let them pull the plug… I promise. I don't care if it costs me my job, my life, anything… I won't let you go…"

"_No...! Don't wait for me, I'm waiting for you! Keep talking to me, p-please... don't give up yet! I need..."_

Angie's head sprung up when the door to Derek's room clicked open, her curiosity dissipating when she grew angry again, only sharing a brief glance with Robert Hoffman before she turned her attention back to her doctor.

"A-Angie…"

"I'm busy, Doctor." she replied curtly, irritated when instead of leaving her alone to finish talking to Derek, he moved to the other side of the surgeon's bed to better grab her attention – all the while learning quickly that he wasn't there to talk.

…Dr. Hoffman was there to pull the plug.

"_What is he doing?" Derek suddenly snapped with a frantic whip of his head towards his father, who was also standing defensively watching the surgeon._

"_Oh God - he's cutting you off, Derek...!" Alexander replied quickly, moving to his side to get a better look of what the doctor was doing._

"W-What are you doing?" Angie asked defensively, immediately rising to her feet. "Why are you touching that…? What are you doing!?"

When Robert said nothing Angie reached for his hand and pulled it away from the equipment, forcing his eyes to flicker towards her momentarily, although shame kept him from doing anything more.

"Answer me!" she yelled. "W-What are you doing!?"

"…The reason the doctors are late is because they're all stuck in surgery. However, I've spoken with Dr. Rogers and he has asked me to go ahead and turn off Derek's respirator…"

Angie's eyes widened in horror at Hoffman's explanation, the hand that wasn't holding Derek's reaching forward to block him from the machine until she could speak with him.

"You've got to be kidding me – f-first you don't do ANYTHING to help reverse this, b-but now y-you mean to tell me you're going to be the one to actually KILL HIM!?"

Dr. Hoffman still said nothing as he continued fumbling with the equipment, hands devoid of their normal solidity and trembling as he tried to display himself as professionally as possible.

"_He's going to be the one to let me go – my boss, the one that just said he knew he should be trying to save me not an HOUR ago, is going to be the one to kill me?!" Derek shouted, hands waving wildly as both he and his father stared on at the doctor with contempt. Suddenly Derek became emotional and stumbled backwards, half from the pain he had been experiencing and half from the pain that came from knowing he was just seconds away from death – trapped screaming from a place that no one could hear him._

"_H-He can't do this!" Derek exclaimed, watching as a now panicking Angie tried her best to get the doctor to stop, but to no avail. "I-I need more time... s-she's gotta do something...!"_

"_There's nothing she can do to stop him, Derek...!" Alexander replied loudly, just as panicked as his son. "This is it and I know you can do it – you've got one shot at this, so make it count... think of something, ANYTHING to get you back. Think of something you have to go back for – whether it be that girl, your patients, your friends and family... something!"_

"Doctor Hoffman – p-please… please just LISTEN to me…! I-I need you to give me j-just a little more time… please, just a little more, I still need to say g-goodbye…!" she pleaded, frustrated when he continued messing with Derek's machinery instead of stopping and listening to her.

"Y-You don't want to do this, Doctor…" she cried, tears streaming down her face. "You don't – I KNOW you don't! You're the only person that has the power to stop this… please!"

Robert suddenly turned towards her and looked her straight in the eyes with an intensity that took her aback at first, but quickly made her realize that he meant business.

"This is the absolute LAST thing on Earth I want to do… it's something that will cause nearly everyone in this country to hate me for the rest of my life. Do you think this is something I actually ENJOY, Angie?! Do you think I LIKE the fact that my hands are responsible for taking Derek's life, when his hands are the ones who saved mine? I HATE this… but unfortunately, I can't give special treatment in this decision – I turned it over to the doctors and they think this is best, so that is what has to happen. Do I like it? Absolutely not. But unfortunately, as a doctor, I have no choice…"

_Derek watched as Robert turned from Angie and his hand migrated ever closer to the machine again, prompting his eyes to shoot open, his hand reaching out although it seemed to be at incredibly slow speed._

"_Don't...!" he shouted, hoping that maybe he would be heard. "PLEASE, don't Dr. Hoffman...!"_

"Wait...! PLEASE!" Angie shouted, reaching her hand forward to stop Dr. Hoffman before he did the unthinkable.

But as a soft 'click' was heard, the nurse realized she was too late. Derek's respirator had been shut off.

"_NO...!" Derek shouted, his hands holding both sides of his head as he looked on in disbelief. "No, turn it back on...!"_

Her eyes flashed with rage as Dr. Hoffman stood there silently, required to be in the room to monitor Derek as his life ended, should anything happen to him in the meantime. Staring at the man who was responsible for what had just happened, Angie felt an uncharacteristic surge of energy pulsing through her body, so angry that she was literally seeing red through the tears that clouded her vision.

"You… You M-MONSTER!" she screamed, lunging across Derek's bed and throwing a cold, hard slap that landed itself right across Dr. Hoffman's right cheek – so hard that it sent his head flying in the opposite direction with a loud 'crack'. He stayed like that momentarily before slowly returning his head forward, his eyes welling with tears as Angie just stood there angrily – slightly guilty, yet in complete defense of her actions.

Dr. Hoffman glanced at Angie as the tears in his eyes formed more rapidly, then down at Derek, and then Angie again as he took a step back from Derek's bed and suddenly went charging toward the door.

"W-Wh…"

Before Angie could ask where he was going the door was thrown open and Dr. Hoffman stormed out, unable to take the emotional weight of what he had just done. And just like that, Angie was all alone with a dying Derek. Every minute as the respirator would power down it would do a little less breathing for him, and at the current moment he was at about ninety percent support from the machine.

Absolutely beside herself Angie lowered the rail to the side of the bed closest to her and kicked off her shoes quickly, crawling onto Derek's mattress and gripping his hand tightly in hers as she cried, trying her best to keep it under control as best as she could.

"_Ngh...!"_

_Alexander looked over at Derek with concern as he stumbled backwards again, regaining his footing as his eyes scanned all around him, shock laced in them._

"_Derek... what's going on? Tell me what's up." he said urgently, stepping toward his son._

"_The d-darkness...!" Derek cried with frustration. "T-There's just a little bit right now around the edges of everything, but it's closing in again...!"_

"D-Derek… Derek please, you HAVE to fight…!" Angie cried, sobbing as she pulled his lifeless hand up to her lips and kissed the back of it. "C-Come on, you can't leave me like this…! I c-can't do this without you – I need you!"

**Eighty percent.**

_Derek watched painfully as the girl laid down on his chest and began to sob loudly, clutching onto his hand for dear life. He felt tears roll down his face at the sight of it, knowing that he would give anything in that moment just to be able to console her – tell her that he was here for her, even though she couldn't see or hear him._

"_T-There has to be something I can do...!" he cried, though when he was met with silence from his father he knew exactly what the answer to that statement was._

**Seventy percent.**

"I-I'm sorry…!" Angie cried suddenly, lifting her head off of his chest and scooting up his bed, one of her hands abandoning his hand in favor of stroking his face. She took small, shuttering breaths as she leaned forward and kissed his forehead through her sobs, pulling back slightly and mirroring the action on his cheek. Resting her cheek against his she just closed her eyes and sobbed, whispering into his ear all the while.

"D-Don't leave me… Please – I'll d-do anything, Derek…"

**Sixty percent.**

"_Try to think of anything you can, Derek – anything about her!" Alexander said forcefully. "Think about being with her in surgery, any time you guys have just been spending time together... anything that can get you to remember who she is!"_

"_That's what I've been trying this whole time!" he exclaimed back, his eyes looking around at the darkness slowly closing in on him. _

**Fifty percent.**

"I never w-wanted this to h-happen…!" she cried loudly, her pained sobs ringing through the air. "T-This was never supposed to happen… we were supposed to be t-together – I was t-too late!"

"_You're not too late...!" Derek shouted again, pain sending him reeling backwards once more. "D-Don't give up on me yet...! I need you!"_

**Forty percent.**

"I-It's us, D-Derek…" she continued, voice now drained of energy. "F-From H-Hope where we f-first met, to C…Caduceus – y-you saved so many people and I w-was always right there by your side…! I l-loved being beside you all those times… we were inseparable…! I've watched as y-you saved so many people… from Amy, to my dad… and even me! You always looked out for me like nobody else c-could – a-and that's why I can't ever replace you…! You CAN'T d-die, Derek…! Y-You're everything to me!"

She paused slightly, sniffling loudly.

"Even that d-day – the day that started all this, you came to my rescue so many times… you s-saved me from getting raped by that a-asshole! You c-came to save me, and you said it was because you l-loved me…! E-Eric was after me that whole day, but from beginning to end you were there to p-protect me, and that's why I f-feel like this is my fault! This should've been me, not you!"

**Thirty percent.**

_Derek's eyes shot wide open and he stopped in his tracks, his surroundings becoming hazy as things became darker._

"_W-Wait...!" he said, gritting his teeth as he began to experience more pain. "E-Eric... Eric... Eric..."_

_He repeated it over and over as his father looked at him inquisitively, before he suddenly looked at Alexander with wide, surprised eyes._

"_I was a HOSTAGE!" he exclaimed suddenly, his father's eyes brightening at the mention._

"_Yes, Derek! What else?"_

"_That guy – he had her trapped in a room... she was s-screami... ngh!"_

_Alexander stepped forward and grabbed Derek's arm tightly, steadying him on his feet as he reeled backwards again, the memories getting the best of him._

"_H-He was going to h-hurt her... so I got the key to the room, and went in to stop him... and when he asked me why I was there..." he paused, trailing off as he looked up and at the blonde that was in devastation in the room below him. "...I told him it was because I was in l-love with her... with that girl... WHAT THE HELL IS HER NAME?!" he suddenly screamed, frustrated._

**Twenty percent.**

"D-Derek…!" Angie cried out, still overwhelmed by her emotions as she sat next to him, legs curled underneath her as she hovered over him while she talked. "T-This is my fault… if you wouldn't have done w-what you did for me, you'd probably still be here…! Y-You said you would die for me if he let me g-go safely, and I never wanted that to happen… EVER! I w-want you here with me… please just come back! C-Come back, Derek… COME BACK!"

_Derek's eyes widened again, a stifled scream escaping him as he fell to the ground in pain, his father immediately at his side._

"_H-He shot her...!" Derek cried out. "He shot her, and I k-knew that he would hurt her a-again, so I told him he could k-kill me if she was safe... t-that's it!" he exclaimed. "...that's when I got shot!"_

"_Y-You finally got it, Derek...!" Alexander replied, helping him to his feet. "You finally put it together, pieced the one memory you couldn't remember back into your mind – now THINK... who is she?!"_

"_I d-don't know...!" Derek said, bursting into sobs. "E-Even though I know that I said I loved her, I don't remember feeling it...!"_

"I c-can't do it…!" Angie suddenly shouted, eyes flickering to the monitor as it hovered around fifteen percent, Derek's heart rate decreasing slowly. "I c-can't wait for y-you to wake up, because I should've never waited this long…!"

**Ten percent.**

"Derek… D-Derek Stiles, I LOVE YOU!" she shouted through her sobs, still holding onto his hands as her head crashed down into his chest. "I l-love you with e-everything I am – everything I have, a-and you're supposed to be with me f-forever, not DIE! I g-gave you my heart a long t-time ago, but I should've told you! I should've said it and I'm an IDIOT – I love you…! I LOVE YOU!"

_Derek let out a small gasp at the words, hit instantly by a fright train of memories that had eluded him until that very moment – hearing her say the words had cemented in his mind exactly who she was for one reason, and one reason only._

_He had loved her endlessly, too._

_And just like her, he had given her his heart a long time ago._

_His father had been right before – sometimes something cannot be truly appreciated until it is fought for. And as she let her feelings out to him finally, Derek was forced to realize that nothing was worth fighting for more than her._

"_Oh my God..." Alexander whispered, doing a double take when he looked over at his son, who had dropped back onto the ground again, groaning loudly from pain._

"_D-Derek, what happened...!?"_

"_I love her...!" he cried, clumsily rising to his feet as thunderous waves of pain coursed through his body. "That's her – that's the girl that no matter what has happened, h-has always been by my side...! The one who when everyone else has given up, stays by my side even though I'm dying right in front of her! That's the girl that's followed me to the ends of the Earth not only b-because she shares my love of helping people in need, but because she loves being with me just as much as I l-love having her with me...! She's the love of my life, and I c-can't believe I ever forgot her... I'm s-so horrible!"_

"_What's her name, Derek?!" Alexander shouted firmly, trying to suppress a proud smile. "S-Say it, Derek...! What's her name?!"_

_Derek took a big breath inward and smiled through his pain, the face he had come to fall in love with swimming through his mind._

"_Angela Thompson."_

**Five percent.**

Angie's head rocketed off of Derek's chest when his vital monitor began screeching, his body quickly thrown into visible distress. She stood stone for a moment, but when Derek took in a big gasping breath she was off the bed and on her feet, checking his vital rate as it plummeted – dropping from the mid 50's to the low 30's in a matter of minutes.

"D-Derek?!" she screamed, jumping to the other side of the bed next to the respirator with his hand still in hers. "C-Come on, Derek… stay with me!"

She clicked the button to turn the device back on but nothing happened, remembering quickly from her training that this particular respirator had a very extensive way of being turned on to prevent damage to the patient's respiratory system. Sobbing, she fumbled with the switches to try to figure out that combo but realized quickly that it wasn't going to work – she was too scattered.

"H-Hang on, Derek…!" she screamed, still holding his hand and making another attempt to restart the machine as she continued to cry helplessly, hearing the last of the supply in the respirator kick off – Derek was now on his own, and his heartrate was dangerously low.

"P-Please…" she cried. "N-Not now, not after all this – do NOT GIVE UP ON ME, DEREK! YOU HEAR?!"

She heard him take in another deep gasping breath and her panic rose again, realizing that the only chance he had to live was to re-intubate him and use a manual ambu bag to breathe for him until she could figure something else out.

"Please God... please, do not do this... come ON!"

Without a spare second to lose, Angie whirled around to go grab the instruments for such a procedure but stopped momentarily when her emotions got the best of her again. Crying too hard to even focus she began to panic more, the blaring monitors in the background doing nothing to settle her down.

And then, accompanying another large breath from the dying surgeon was a small squeeze from the hand that was holding hers – a squeeze timed just right, as it refueled the fire in her and made her ready to do anything she needed to in order to save the life of the man she loved.

The question then became...

...could she do it in time?

* * *

**Is Angie too late?**

**Will Derek live, or will he die?**

**See you next chapter.  
**


	17. Pain

**Hey there :)**

**I never thought I'd see the day I came back to update this, but it's finally here and I could not be more relieved and ecstatic. I'm sure a lot of you have forgotten about me and this story by now, because it has been over a year since I last updated it and I'm so so sorry... but hopefully after you read it, you'll understand why it took me so long - I had to get it just right... I wasn't settling on this one.**

**I could go on forever about what I've put into this story, but you'll see it as you read. Please know that while I tried my best, there are probably a few medical inaccuracies in there and if you call me on them I will understand, but I'll probably go in the corner and cry for a day or two. **

**I should also note that this is nearly 18,000 words. After all the waiting you guys did, I figured you deserved that much...  
**

**I won't say anything else. Though, I do highly suggest that if it's been awhile since you last caught up with this, you skim the previous chapter first. It'll help.**

**I'm nervous, but excited! I poured by blood, sweat, and tears into this one, and I hope you like it.**

**Special thanks to Parsat and "KC" for helping me pull this together. You guys are awesome. :)  
**

**Enjoy.  
**

* * *

Few times in Angela Thompson's life did she get to experience the feeling of the world around her suddenly screeching into slow-motion.

Being a nurse at Caduceus meant that she seemingly had seen it all. The hospital was what some people had nicknamed "the end of the line", as it was the place that patients seemingly "unsaveable" at other facilities were sent to as their last hope for survival.

It didn't make those types of heartbreaking cases any less tragic by nature, though through her years there, Angie had learned many ways to hold tough in even the most dire situations – to stay hard as a rock both physically and mentally.

Once in awhile, however, a case would come along that would bring the second hand down to a painful crawl. These battles seemed to drag on forever, tested the endurance of all involved, and pushed them to places so far past their breaking points that it was a wonder said people could remain mentally stable after completing their missions.

In times like this, Angie would grow scared – sometimes, regrettably, even allowing it to show. Moments like this she would beat herself up over for weeks afterward, as weakness was a trait the nurse always fought to banish from each and every single thing she did.

Only a handful of times had Angie experienced this type of slowness before, feeling as though she could finally somewhat get an idea of what it was like to have the Healing Touch, even though she knew her experiences did not hold a candle to the incredulous ability. These moments, where concentration was crucial and timing, if off by even a fraction of a second, would have devastating consequences, Angie worked at her best – even if her mind worried, her partner and her indomitable will to fight would power her through any battle.

Mind racing in a thousand directions and deafened by a million thoughts, Angie felt it all fade away the second Derek's hand grasped hers, sending her immediately back to square one from the overwhelming shock of the situation. Brain shouting to her that she should be checking the monitors and doing something to remedy the situation, Angie's eyes remained fixed on the sudden life that had come into Derek's hand as it held hers, the sign she had been waiting for through the whole painful ordeal coming at the time that she needed it the most.

Tears rushing down her face but too overwhelmed to let out the sobs that should've been accompanying them, Angie remained rooted firmly in her place, chest heaving with quickened breaths and heart racing out of control. Her eyes widened when she felt his hand loosen its squeeze gradually, the life fading out of it before her very eyes and reminding her just where she was and what was at stake.

Sure, she had seen situations in which she thought time would never pass.

But that day, for the first time she could remember, Angie Thompson's world came to a complete stop.

And another unwanted first came when she realized she had no conceivable idea of where to even begin to fix it.

--

Robert Hoffman stumbled from Derek Stiles's room in utter devastation, feeling as if the emotional toll for his actions would be impossible to overcome. Trying his best to hold himself together until he could be alone, he paced haphazardly down the hallways as if completely intoxicated – barely able to walk a straight line. Tears clouded his vision and thoughts jammed his brain as he pressed on, desperate to get away, desperate to breathe…

…desperate to get to a place where he could convince himself that what he had just done hadn't really happened.

And unfortunately for him, that place wasn't Caduceus.

Rounding the corner of the last hallway before the elevator that would take him to his office – to solace – Robert chanced a look to his left, skidding to a halt when he saw them.

Them – his once faithful staff. Always respectful, always friendly, always there for whatever, whenever, now staring at him in a way he had never experienced. Joined by Derek's mother, Tyler, Victor, Leslie, and Stephen nearly burned holes into him as he stood frozen, feeling no more than a shell of a human being at that point. His trembling fingers reached to his right and fumbled to grab onto the counter nearest to him, feeling his grip tighten until his hand was seemingly numb. Even with this support he could feel his footing slip, wondering through a judgment such as this, if he would be able to hold it together for just a short while longer.

Sure, he was the eldest of them all – but Robert never knew a group of people he respected more than those sitting in front of him, in addition to the two he had left alone in the hospital room. He knew at that moment he had made the absolute wrong choice, and he realized it too late to be able to do anything about it.

And by the way they were all looking at him, he knew they all agreed.

Angry looks he could stand, but the look of disgust clouding over it pushed him past his breaking point – he could see just by looking at those that loved Derek most, that he had betrayed the oath he had taken all those years ago: that he would never be responsible for allowing a patient to fall. Not only had he broken that promise, he had done it with his own hands – hands that were once responsible for saving lives had just taken one, and with it, the best hope the world had for a brighter future.

Robert Hoffman's heart sped up as Tyler Chase rose to his feet, none of the other pairs of eyes straying from Robert as the young doctor did so. Mind spiraling, trying to figure out what he could be doing, he grew nervous as the distance closed between the two of them – he was coming directly towards him.

No more than two feet away from Robert, Tyler slowed to a gentle stop, his glare more powerful now that the elder doctor could spot the tears swimming in them. Tyler's hand reached out shakily and pointed at something on Robert's crisp white lab coat, the doctor not realizing what it was until he looked down.

Usually a sign of pride, the Caduceus crest had never felt like more of an unbearable weight than it did at that moment. He took a moment to stare at it sadly as Tyler retracted his hand, slowly bringing his gaze up to meet the young surgeon and knowing he wasn't going to like what he was about to hear.

"Take it off." he whispered, his malice clearly evident even through his low voice.

Dr. Hoffman said nothing in return, stunned by the very clear command though confused by it all the same.

"Are you deaf?!" Tyler continued as tears clouded his vision, moving closer to Robert while his voice raised in pitch. "Can you FUCKING hear me?!"

From behind the two men, Stephen Clarks gently rose to his feet and moved cautiously toward the situation in case it would warrant intervention, knowing it was possible as Tyler seemed to be losing control over his actions.

Still Robert said nothing, feeling a lump rise up in his throat as he stared into Tyler's brown eyes. It was at that moment he realized that the man standing in front of him wasn't a doctor – he was a reality. He was one of the many realities – people – that were never going to be the same again because of the choice he had made. As he quickly darted his vision over Tyler's shoulder and to those who were watching the situation unfold, he could see it in all of them as well – they had lost someone close to them in so many different ways, and it was all his fault.

During this period of devastating reflection, Robert's silence had come to anger the blonde doctor further, and he had not realized it until Tyler's hands gripped tightly onto his lab coat and pushed him back against the nurse's station he rested on, the counter now tightly digging into his back.

"I said TAKE IT OFF!" Tyler suddenly yelled, pulling the elder doctor towards himself and then showing him firmly against the station once more. Robert winced in pain at the hit but still remained speechless, knowing that he shouldn't be accepting this type of behavior as the head of Caduceus, though he more than deserved it.

"Tyler!" Dr. Clarks shouted over him, moving quickly to the side of the two men as he reached forward and tried prying Tyler's hands from the surgeon.

"Take it OFF, you SON OF A BITCH! You don't DESERVE IT!" Tyler continued, paying no mind to Stephen as his grip remained firm on Robert's coat and closed in a deadlock around the crest as his tried to rip it off himself.

Leslie moved to sit next to Derek's mother as the altercation continued, placing an arm around the older woman as she began to cry harder. Leslie forced back tears of her own, knowing that she should be stopping her boyfriend in that moment, though she couldn't bring herself to do it.

Mostly, because she completely agreed with what he was doing and why he was doing it.

"You're a MURDERER! You fucking killed him!" Tyler continually shouted, now slamming him against the counter repeatedly. At this point, Stephen used every bit of strength he had left in him to wedge in between the two, pushing Tyler off of Robert and a few feet away as he held him against a wall to calm himself.

"Enough." Stephen said firmly, feeling a prick at his eyes as he watched Tyler stare at Dr. Hoffman. The young doctor's eyes were blazing with fire, though it was only a front to the devastation he knew was inside of him, shown perfectly by the tears that quickly pooled.

Robert felt an anger pulse through him briefly as the pain of the altercation dulled, before finally allowing himself to concede to the younger man's words. He had betrayed everything the crest stood for, and every promise he had made to Richard Anderson when they founded it.

Tyler took a step back, noticing that Robert's gaze had strayed away, now fixated on an arbitrary point away from the most excruciating situation he had ever been a part of.

"You _disgust _me." he muttered, taking one last good look into Dr. Hoffman's eyes as the last of the respect he had ever had for the director faded away. Unable to be near him, Tyler sniffled once and slowly walked away from him, moving around the corner and eventually out of sight.

If his heart hadn't been broken before, it certainly shattered at that moment as the usually strong, unbreakable leader of the hospital realized that he had disgraced the Caduceus name and the one good, pure thing that it stood for:

Life.

Unable to take it any longer, Robert stormed down the hallway, not even bothering to retreat to his office as merely being inside the building was suffocating him by the second. Breathing in heavy, unsteady intervals, Dr. Hoffman stumbled towards the entrance, hearing a voice shout his name, though he didn't pay it any attention.

Nearly blinded by the bright sun, Robert Hoffman finally stepped out of Caduceus, brushed over by a gust of wind as he closed his eyes and took a moment to say a mental goodbye to the place he had poured his heart and soul into.

There was nothing to stay for anymore, no reason important enough to get him to set foot in that building ever again. Derek Stiles was the epitome of the Caduceus name – a man who never gave up, no matter what the challenge that was placed in his hands…

…and he had just killed him.

--

Still shocked, Angie stood staring at Derek for a split second as her mind raced. She thought over all her training, everything she had learned up until that moment, but nothing seemed to fit.

"_He's in serious distress... what first?"_

Clenching her fists at her sides and digging her fingernails into her palms in the process, she bit back a sob as she thought harder, feeling frustrated by the fact that time was very much against her at the moment. It pushed her to get to a solution faster than the pace at what she was working and consequently, the answer was slipping from her mind under the pressure.

"_Okay, Angie... think. What comes first... you know this!"_

Drifting her eyes over to the side of Derek's bed momentarily as her teeth grit themselves together, she saw the now powerless respirator, sending a light off in her brain that immediately sprang her into action.

Whirling around, Angie's hands worked to rip open the drawers below all of Derek's vital monitors, rummaging around and throwing equipment every which way as she searched for the two tools that seemed to be evading her in the moment. Finally, pulling open the last drawer, she spotted the laryngoscope and sterile tubing needed to perform an endotracheal intubation, and jumped to her feet.

"_It's been so many years since I've done this... I don't think I can remember..."_

Forgoing any sense of professionalism she once held, Angie scurried onto Derek's bed and straddled his body for balance, paying no mind to the suggestiveness of the situation and instead focusing on tilting Derek's head back into the proper position.

"Dammit!" she swore under her breath, realizing that no matter how she moved, she couldn't get the correct angle. She must have been going about it the wrong way, and with her judgment obviously clouded from the unrelenting stress of the situation, Angie simply began to cry as she tried once more to open up Derek's passageway enough to perform the procedure that hopefully, would save his life.

"I can't see anything!" she hissed again, hair fanning out around her as she whipped her head to the side to glance at the monitors.

"Come on, Derek… hang on, I'm going to get this! I can get this!"

Leaning forward again, one hand under Derek's chin and the other tightly gripping the laryngoscope, Angie tried her best to give the procedure another go, finally realizing that no matter what she did, the sad truth was that she hadn't done anything like this since her days in nursing school. The lack of practice lead to a dead-spot in her brain where the information should have been, because while she watched Derek intubate what seemed like hundreds of times, it had never been her hands going through the motions, her brain running through the procedure, her knowledge and expertise at work.

Stifling back a sob again, Angie reached forward and smacked the emergency button behind Derek's bed, setting off an alarm that she hoped someone would see. It did in fact set off an alarm, but the unfortunate truth was that it alerted the nurses station in the desolate hallway outside of Derek's room, and she hadn't even bothered to think of it. Everyone else were too far away for her to run for help, she was too frazzled to think of another solution, and there was no way she was leaving his side – not now, not ever.

The only thing she could think to do was yell. Yell for the one person she trusted in the most crucial moment of her entire life… the person that through everything had never and would never let her down, and understood just what Derek's life was worth.

"…TYLEERRR!"

--

Sidney Kasal had been the man to call after Dr. Hoffman as he made his way out of the building, though in his emotional distress, the elder doctor had not heard him or if he had, he had paid him no mind.

Sidney was always the one to hold everyone together when emotions were running high, because unlike others, he never let his feelings about a situation take him over. He was impenetrable – strong, firm, level-headed, serious… just like he had always been.

However, watching one of the founders of Caduceus run from the building as he just had… knowing that he would forever blame himself for the loss of the prestigious organization's most beloved doctors, made Sidney ready to break down where he stood.

He contemplated running after him, trying to console him as a friend and a colleague and reassure him that what he had done was the right decision, but he remained just where he was.

It didn't matter if he wanted to run away, isolate himself completely, cry until he couldn't anymore, or for once shed the layers of composure that encapsulated him. It didn't matter what he personally wanted, because more important at the moment was what he had to do, professionally.

Instead of going after Robert, Sidney let out a deep sigh and turned in the direction of the waiting room.

Instead of panicking that his entire staff and their leader were all completely unable to function, he straightened his tie and walked on.

Instead of worrying what a future without Derek Stiles would mean for the medical world, Caduceus especially, Sidney cleared his throat and rounded the corner.

In doing so, he now stared into the faces of his beloved staff, feeling their pain as his own just by looking into their devastated eyes and faces. And while at that moment they may not have been able to understand how Sidney was holding it together, he knew one day later on he would tell them all that he did it because he had to – because he always did what needed to be done, for them.

They all said nothing as he paced into the waiting room and took a seat next to Leslie, noticing quickly that the man that usually occupied that seat was nowhere to be found.

Eyebrows furrowed in confusion, Sidney turned toward a very distraught Leslie, and in the softest voice he could muster, gently asked, "…where is Tyler?"

She sniffled once, diverting her eyes away from Sidney in favor of wiping her face with a tissue.

"He…"

Leslie stopped, feeling suddenly as though she didn't have the strength to tell him about the altercation with Dr. Hoffman.

"He just, went for a w-walk… he needed s-some time…"

Sidney just nodded in response. He figured Tyler was taking it harder than most, as he had been Derek's best friend for quite awhile – since they had started working together, the two had become nearly inseparable… which, Sidney had learned as a boss, had negative and positive outcomes.

He also knew in that moment, as a boss, that there were so many things to take care of, to repair and rebuild after such a horrible tragedy.

But for once, Sidney pushed work aside, opting to sit in silence with coworkers that somewhere along the line, had become some of his dearest friends. He knew that there were no words that were going to take away any of their pain, or his own either.

So instead he just sat, doing the only thing he could think of to support his faithful staff.

Just be there.

--

More livid than he had ever been in his whole life, Tyler Chase had turned his back to Dr. Hoffman and slowly walked away from him. As he moved to walk around the corner a familiar voice called out to him as he turned around just in time to notice that Robert was already long gone from the scene.

"Tyler… wait!" Leslie cried, in tears as she dashed towards him, noting the devastation clearly weighing on his pale, drained face.

"Les…" he started, sniffling again. "I really just… need to take a walk, right now."

Leslie's eyes implored him to wait just a minute, reaching her hand out to grab his. "But Ty…"

Tyler smirked half-heartedly, squeezing her hand gently. "I'll be fine Les, I just need some time."

She nodded in understanding and squeezed his hand back before dropping it and letting him go on his way. The nurse watched, feeling whatever was left of her heart break apart just a little more, noticing the love of her life trying with everything he had to hold it together after losing his best friend in the world.

And sickening as it was to think about - this was only the beginning.

Sticking his hands in his pockets as he walked to the near-deserted side of Caduceus, Tyler stopped momentarily with thoughts of sitting down on one of the benches that lined Caduceus's hallways, quickly deciding against the action for the fear that he simply wouldn't get up. He stayed motionless as his eyes closed themselves, sniffling again as he felt a tear fall from his eyes, splattering against the emerald tile as he tried to wrap his mind around the situation.

They had been best friends in college, and in a pleasantly ironic twist, had become best friends again in adulthood… and when meeting up again, it was like they'd never missed a beat. The years they had been apart and grown up had done wonders for their new friendship, and while they still had their moments that would cause nearly everyone they know to glare at them in disbelief at how childish they were, Tyler knew that he never had a better friend than the one he found in Derek Stiles. He could talk to him about anything, whether good or bad, and if it hadn't been for Derek, his baby sister – the one he had almost killed with his own hands – would have…

Thoughts came to a screeching halt as Tyler forced them to, feeling a sob rack his body through and through, followed by more of them until he was an utter mess. Stumbling over to the wooden bench he had refused before, Tyler dropped down onto the cushioned seat and buried his face in his hands, heart-wrenching sobs pouring out into the hallway as he finally let reality into his mind, heart, and soul.

Derek was gone – they had tried, but failed… it was all over.

They always won… _always_. Nothing could take the Caduceus team down once they had their minds set on something – why did _this_ have to be the exception. Why was it Derek - the man who had nearly given up his life on many occasions, and allowed countless people to return to see their loved ones for another day? Why wasn't he returning to them, opening his eyes, smiling, reassuring them all that it was going to be just fine, just like he always did?

Why was the one time that they absolutely _had_ to prevail the time that they had all been defeated?

How was it fair that the person who had been personally responsible for pulling them all together at some point or another, had been the one who lost his life?

"W-Why, D-Derek…" Tyler whispered in between sobs, now rocking back and forth with his face in his palms, hands dripping with his fallen tears. "W-Why y-you?"

_Because of a fucked up family love triangle, that's why._

Tyler stopped the flow of sobs and tears momentarily, feeling a pulse of anger through his whole body as that statement rang through his mind.

_Because someone TOOK his life away from him – someone he never even __**met.**_

Dropping his hands to his sides and wiping them on his pants, Tyler bounced his leg up and down as he bit his bottom lip, trying to control the utter rage now flooding his senses.

_My best friend died because he couldn't save the woman YOU stabbed... _

He rose from his seat, eyes glazed over with a fire that was spreading through his body by the very second. His fists clenched and unclenched repeatedly at his sides, the motion doing nothing but spurring his anger and need for revenge on anyone who could be to blame.

_...the woman you were sleeping with that didn't want you because she was married to your __**brother**__..._

But the only person he could blame – Eric Corrigan, the person responsible for ultimately meeting his goal and killing Derek Stiles – was dead… and as far as Tyler was concerned in that moment, he was a lucky son of a bitch for being so.

There was no solace, no redemption, nothing that could give them any relief… someone, another person, had taken Derek's life away from him and all who loved him. And although he was now dead as well, it wasn't enough – it was too quick, he hadn't suffered… it just, wasn't enough.

And it was never going to be enough.

Even if they had gotten some sort of revenge – been able to torture the bastard until he begged for death – nothing would make them ever feel better, because it would never bring Derek back.

At this thought Tyler felt himself relax and his anger subside, dropping back into his depression as somehow, he found a way to will himself to stay standing. Wobbly at best, the surgeon stood still momentarily staring at the bench, wanting nothing more than to collapse back onto it and cry until he went numb… cry until he couldn't do anything anymore, cry until he could fall asleep – that way, he could wake up and it would have all been a nightmare… a horrible, horrible nightmare.

As Tyler took a step forward, further away from all the rest of those that were grieving for their friend and colleague, he realized it wasn't a nightmare by the corridor he was passing through at that moment.

Usually a part of Caduceus that was consistently hectic, the back wing of the ICU was completely deserted, it's normal occupants relocated elsewhere in the hospital earlier that week. Per request of Sidney Kasal, only a few select persons even had access to the _hallway_ where Derek Stiles's room was, to prevent people from "involving themselves in matters that were none of their business", as he had so kindly stated in his memo.

Unfortunately this was the way to Tyler's office, where he wanted to go and shut himself away for God even knew how long. It became increasingly more difficult to even be in the hospital, let alone this close to where Derek was, and Tyler felt the brunt of it as his heart began to race, pulse echoing through his mind as the silence of his surroundings became deafening.

"I can't take this…" he muttered to himself, picking up his pace to get to his destination quicker. However, quicker wasn't working for him, as suddenly, he felt his feet turn to lead.

Rounding the corner, Tyler Chase diverted his eyes away from where he was going, instead, focusing on where he had been.

At his immediate left, two dark blue double doors remained shut and locked, even the windows on them blocked by Sidney under his new ruling. The whole unit had been shut down, used solely for Derek through the last two months, though the restricted privacy had become a recent development. Tyler's eyes traced to the automated lock, one that he and only the other select few that were close enough to Derek or working on his case were allowed access to.

He could keep going, continue to his office as he planned, but something stuck Tyler Chase in that spot, his mind fighting what his heart was telling him to do.

He didn't want to see him, and it was the honest truth. No good could come of seeing his best friend dead – even thinking of seeing him at his funeral made Tyler want to get as far away from Angeles Bay as humanly possible.

But still, he was stuck. Rooted in place, unable to will himself to go the opposite way.

Caught in his own little world, Tyler finally took notice to the two young nurses seated outside of the locked doors, conversing with one another and looking intermittently at him in between conversations. When they finally saw him snap back into reality they grew visibly nervous, wondering just what he was going to say and do to them for being there.

He did grow annoyed at first, quickly dropping the act when he realized he didn't have enough strength to even pretend to follow through with it.

As he dropped his frustrations and gave up on a fight before it even started, Tyler somehow found a way to turn around and begin walking again, feeling the sad eyes of the nurses on him as he did so.

However, four steps away, Tyler's attention got caught once more – again, by the nurses now standing behind him.

"I wonder what she's doing in there… it's been a long time."

He stopped in his tracks, familiarity flooding his mind and screaming to him that this was important – but, the disheveled state of his thoughts didn't immediately allow him to decipher what was triggering these thoughts in his mind.

"I don't know… I hope she's not just sitting in there with him if he's dead."

"_Angie..."_

In a flash, Tyler immediately whirled around, startling the women as he did so.

"Have either of you seen Nurse Thompson?" he asked in a near-panic, knowing exactly that this had been the missing piece of the puzzle, the detail that he and seemingly everyone else had overlooked.

The woman on the left swallowed hard, shaking her head. "No, Dr. Chase… we think she's still in there."

Panic once again bombarded Tyler's mind, thinking of his altercation with Dr. Hoffman just moments before.

"_If he's not in there with her..."_

"MOVE!" he suddenly shouted, racing towards the automatic lock and nearly ripping his badge from his chest. Startled and with small shrieks, the nurses parted ways and moved from their positions, allowing Tyler to get to where he needed to be.

Swiping his badge he saw the light flash green twice and the speaker beep as he placed his hand on the handle and readied himself to enter the hallway. Taking a deep breath and fighting his body every step of the way, Tyler pushed on the handle and swung the door open, eyes greeted by a sight that made him nearly vomit.

The hallway, completely quiet since Derek had taken residence there, was lit up like a Christmas tree. His brown eyes slowly traced over the flashing lights and alarms that were now all aglow, accompanied by sirens at both the nurse's station and coming from Derek's room. Tyler stood frozen momentarily as he wondered what could possibly be happening, but he soon found himself throwing caution to the wind as he broke out in a sprint faster than he had ever remembered running before.

The hallway seemed to go on forever and his body felt like it weighed a thousand pounds in that moment, eyes catching nothing but warning signals and the accompanying alarms that went with them as he ran. Deafened to the outside world by the industrial sized doors at the end of the hallway, Tyler knew that the source of these signals and whatever else was happening could be nothing less than awful.

"_TYLEERRR!!"_

Momentarily skidding to a halt, Tyler felt instantly sick upon hearing Angie's near blood-curdling scream, knowing that it must be a desperate situation in order for her to call out to him like that. Breaking back out into a run, Tyler also realized that because of where they were, he was going to be the only person able to take care of whatever had happened… there was nobody else.

After a painstakingly slow progress towards Derek's door, Tyler again faltered as he placed his hand on the handle, knowing that no matter how painful it was going to be, he had to press on. In that moment, he was ready for action – ready to deal with whatever was on the other side of the door, no matter how horrid it could be.

But as ready as he thought he was, Tyler Chase had never been caught that far off-guard before. What he was ready for was expecting something completely different – nothing of this caliber… especially after the most emotionally and physically draining day of his life. Shock never got the best of him before, but now that it had it knocked him back a huge step, and it was going to take one of Caduceus's top surgeons some time in trying to put it all together.

Just like Angie had experienced earlier that day, the situation in Derek's room took yet another one of Caduceus's sharpest minds and shattered it under the weight of the unexpected, rendering it nearly paralyzed in a situation that unfortunately, required immediate action.

--

"_What's her name, Derek?!" Alexander shouted firmly, trying to suppress a proud smile. "S-Say it, Derek...! What's her name?!"_

_Derek took a big breath inward and smiled through his pain, the face he had come to fall in love with swimming through his mind._

"_Angela Thompson."_

_Alexander Stiles's eyes lightened up brighter than ever, staring at his son with great pride. The journey was finally over, as shown by how Derek turned around with tears in his eyes and a smile on his face, every so often wincing from the unbelievable pain his body was in._

"_It's Angie, Dad. I never thought it was possible to love someone so much until I met her..." Derek said quietly, love flooding his voice as he spoke about the woman that had been fleeting in his mind for this whole process._

_Alexander smiled again. "And you two will be happy together forever... But, you won't remember any of this when you go back, so it's your job to make sure you don't be your normal dense self and let her get away... okay son?" he said with a slight chuckle._

"_I won't remember any of it when I go back?" he replied disappointedly as Alex shook his head, face dropping shortly after._

_Derek's father watched as all of a sudden, his son began groaning and stumbling back when an obviously sharp jolt of pain coursed through his body once more._

_Fighting to keep his eyes open, Derek's face began to contort into a look of panic, realizing that even though he had met his goal, the darkness was still closing in on him._

"_Dad..." Derek said, a slight urgency in his tone though it grew to horror quickly. "Dad, what's happening to me?! Why am I still here?!"_

_The calm smile Alex had been sporting gradually faded into a look of fear as well, realizing that his son was right – he should have been able to wake up by now, go back to his life... But he was still in front of him, still bombarded by severe pain, and still trapped with no way out, even after accomplishing everything he needed to work for. _

_Something was very wrong._

--

Even though there was much to be seen at nearly every corner of the room, Tyler's eyes stuck on one thing as he walked in, and it was Caduceus's seemingly unshakable nurse as she whirled around and met his stare.

Angie Thompson had completely abandoned the professionalism that she had always prided herself on, as shown by the fact that instead of standing at the patient's bedside like usual, she was fully on top of Derek's bed, straddling his torso to hold herself steady. Legs still planted, she had turned around as far as she could to look Tyler's way, instruments in her left hand with her right still firmly holding Derek's head. Her stare pierced Tyler's with a panic that he had never before seen in any human being, and with an urgency that beckoned an immediate response, growing even more scared when all the surgeon did was stare back. Sobbing harder than he had ever seen her, her red, puffy eyes and tear-stained cheeks made Tyler perfectly ready for the urgent call she nearly instantly let out into the air.

"Tyler!" Angie screeched, voice strained and cheeks glistening with another set of fresh tears. "T-Tyler – help… PLEASE!"

The sirens from every monitor attached to Derek were blaring at full force, screens blinking wildly and signaling that he was in extreme danger, though by the grace of God still hanging on by a thread. Tyler scanned each and every one of them frantically, trying to make sense of what they were trying to say but finding himself too frazzled to even know where to begin.

Still holding firmly onto the door handle, Tyler felt a wave of panic rush through him as he stared back at the pleading nurse, knowing that he had to think of something quick but also quickly realizing that he was drawing a complete blank. Even her words seemed to pass through him, making everything seem that much more surreal.

"_Come on – what the hell is the matter with you!?"_

He had been in this situation millions of times – he knew each and every one of those numbers, those beeps, those words and colors - there was a pattern to them all, and remembering the sequence of steps was crucial to being able to fix them… to ultimately save the patient. He had done it so many times it should have been easy…

…but too many things just didn't make sense.

For starters, Angie Thompson, the most unshakable nurse Tyler had ever known, was beside herself – completely unraveled. She was holding instruments in her hand, but wasn't putting them to any sort of use… the patient was in severe distress, but she wasn't performing any sort of aid.

"_Why is she holding a laryngoscope...?"_

Tyler finally let go of the handle, pacing into the room and letting the door click shut behind him. He moved to the side of the bed amidst Angie's constant yells for his help, though they continually passed through his brain as he worked to continue his train of thought.

"_The monitors..."_

All the signals, flashes, beeps pointed to the patient being in critical systemic failure – the sirens were signaling vital distress, meaning that while it was by a slim margin, the patient was still alive.

"_They said Derek's brain function was too limited to support himself..."_

Tyler's eyes grew wide as he turned around to glance at the one monitor that he had seemingly never taken his mind off of through the entire ordeal – the machine in charge of monitoring Derek's brain activity.

The machine that unlike every other day, was now blank.

"_They powered it down – and the respirator as well. But..."_

And in that moment, all the medical expertise, all the strength, knowledge, capabilities that Tyler Chase had ever learned came flooding back to him and finally snapped him out of his temporary shock.

Derek Stiles was still alive, still fighting – but if they didn't act fast, he wouldn't be for much longer.

--

"_Um, I uh..." Alex began, rushing to his son's side as he let out a stifled scream and dropped to his knees in pain._

"_D-Dad..." Derek cried, now panicking. "I want to go back, Dad... I need to go back! You have to h-help me!"_

_Looking around at his surroundings, Derek felt his chest heaving up and down quickly when he realized that the darkness wasn't relenting as he had hoped. His vision began to fade intermittently, clouding his surroundings except for his father, who still stood vividly in front of him. Clumsily turning around, Derek let out another sharp cry of protest as he watched the vision of his life slowly fade away, his heart breaking as he watched Angie panicking next to his visibly distressed body._

"_After ALL OF THIS!" Derek shouted, rising to his feet and trying to clumsily move in the direction of the sight of Angie. "After e-everything we did, it all meant NOTHING?!"_

"_Derek, no!" Alex replied, placing a hand on his son's shoulder. "You just have to... you've got to get..."_

"_NO!" Derek yelled, shoving away the hand and forcefully pushing his father away from him. "No, I don't need your help anymore! You LIED to me!"_

--

Tyler could see that the panic in Angie's eyes wasn't going anywhere soon. However, when the familiar look of determination finally set itself on his face, hope flooded her eyes as she watched him finally make a move. In a split second he had dashed to the side of Derek's bed and started working, just as she climbed off of him and planted her feet on the floor, ready to assist however possible.

"Get everything ready!" he exclaimed, flipping his hair out of his face as Angie all but threw the laryngoscope his way, her hands reaching for the sterile tubing. He knew that although she had been undoubtedly frazzled while trying to perform the procedure by herself, the best way to get the tube in so Derek could breathe again was to try it from behind his head – it was the easiest way to see everything, and less of a risk.

"Help me lower this!" Tyler yelled, making Angie jump slightly as both of their shaking hands reached behind the head of the bed and pulled the emergency latch, sending Derek's top half flat in less than half the time it would've taken to use the electronic controls. Tyler, trying to maneuver behind the bed, immediately noticed he was unsuccessful in doing so and turned around in order to push the side table holding the cerebral monitor and respirator out of the way to give him more room. He gave it a good hard push followed by another, and when it failed to budge more than three inches, Tyler finally lost his temper. With the distress he felt from the wailing sirens and the feeling that everything seemed to be working against him, Tyler felt his patience instantly plummet to zero. He took two steps back, and with anger in his eyes, charged forward.

"..NGH!"

Nearly growling at the obstacle, the blonde doctor rammed the tall table with all of his might, successfully sending it toppling over and out of his way. He paid no mind to the very expensive machinery that shattered like glass upon its impact with the floor, neither the sound of it nor the amount of money he was going to have to pay to replace it affecting him in the slightest.

Moving as fast as he could will himself to the back of Derek's bed, he noticed that Angie was still sobbing, her eyes turned towards the monitors as Derek's vitals still miraculously hovered in the low teens.

"What's happening to him?!" she cried, feeling as torn apart as she ever remembered. Her hands worked to rip open the bag containing the sterile tubing needed to finish the procedure, but her incessant shaking eventually forced her to cut her losses and use her teeth to pry it open instead.

"I have no idea…" he replied grimly, tilting Derek's head back towards himself when he paused with a realization.

"I've never seen this before in my life."

There was a brief pause as Tyler looked up to Angie, her eyes searching his for reassurance. With a flick of his thumb he turned on the light at the end of the laryngoscope, and holding Derek's head, gave Angie the most reassuring smile he could muster.

"He's holding on for a reason, so it's our job to save him – pull it together and let's do this, Ang!" he exclaimed, seeing the nurse nod vigorously, the life suddenly springing back into her face.

"Whatever you're doing, keep doing it buddy… hold on - you're gonna make it!" Tyler shouted over the incessant beeping to his best friend. Moving into position with the laryngoscope, it nearly touched the back of Derek's throat before his body suddenly spiked upward with a loud heaving breath, the doctor and nurse both jumping at the unexpected turn of events.

"His oxygen levels are dangerously low!" Angie screamed, eyes switching between Derek and the monitor that was supplying her with the information. She watched as his body involuntary caused him to gasp, the lack of air producing a reaction that none of them could control.

"We're running out of time!" Tyler replied, trying his best to hold Derek's head still. "You've got to hold him down!"

Without another thought or a second to spare, Angie did just as she was told and vaulted herself onto the bed, straddling Derek's chest once more as she used her knees to hold his arms down and her hands to firmly hold his head.

"Keep him steady just for a second, Ang!"

"Ngh… He's moving around too much!" she replied, visibly straining to keep him as still as the delicate procedure required.

"I just need a second!"

"_Come on... keep it steady. Don't think about anything else." _Tyler thought to himself as he watched the shining metal glide against Derek's tongue and toward the back of his throat. Tyler moved quickly but carefully, finally able to reach the epiglottis and push it against the back of his throat, and shortly after, opened up the entrance to his windpipe.

"I'm IN! I need the tube, quick!"

Trying to hold Derek still while reaching to her side, Angie audibly strained as she finally reached the tube and passed it off to Tyler. Unfortunately enough, taking her weight off of Derek allowed his body to jolt, and the jerk she experienced caused her arm to flail and knock the accompanying ambu bag off of the side table and onto the floor with a clatter.

"Shit!" she screamed, jumping off of Derek as fast as she could and turning her eyes immediately to the ground.

"Where the HELL did it go?!" she yelled in anguish as she turned in circles, feeling the limits of the situation set heavily in her body as she looked frantically in every direction for the missing bag.

"_I could go get another one..._

_No – there's not enough time! It's too far away – nothing's in this hallway!"_

"Hurry, Ang – he's not going to last much longer!"

And with that comment, Angie felt herself finally lose whatever had been holding her together, knowing that at every turn that day, she had failed. Lowering herself to all fours on the cold, hospital tile, her body began shuddering from uncontrollable sobs again as she realized that she simply had no more left to give. For a surgical nurse that had saved countless lives, she was useless in saving the one person most important to her, as told by her inability to do anything with the small window they had to save his life.

"I can't do it…" she whispered quietly. "I can't do this without you, Derek."

The noises that she once held a sharp ear for dissipated from her mind, as did the frantic shouts from Tyler, who was still holding the tube in place and waiting for Angie to bring him the bag that would help Derek breathe. Now that she had lowered herself to the ground Angie knew moving was impossible from that point on, the weight of the world literally rested on her shoulders as she wept.

"_I don't deserve to be a nurse..."_

A fresh set of tears splattered on the tile below her as her mind still shouted to her to get up, but she did not rise. When it all took a turn for the worst, she had a feeling that this would be the start of her demise, and she had just been proven right.

Tyler, frantically trying to lean over the bed to see where Angie had gone, grew frustrated when he could see or hear nothing, one hand on Derek's chest and the tube now in his throat, respectively. Feeling himself grow impatient yet again, he did the only thing he could think of and told her the truth.

"Angie – get up right now or he's going to DIE! Do you hear me!? You've got to get up NOW! I need the bag – COME ON!"

Although she had tried her best to block everything out, Tyler's words broke the barrier and pierced through to the center of her heart, though it still failed to make her move.

"I can't…!" she cried weakly, sobbing again in complete disgust of what she had become, and broken under a weight that had never been able to collapse her before.

The stronger she was, the harder she knew she would eventually fall – and unfortunately, eventually had come too soon.

"Yes you CAN!" Tyler yelled back at her, eyes on the monitor and horrified as he watched the numbers drop yet again. "This is for DEREK, Angie… do you think he would EVER want you to just GIVE UP?! You two have NEVER lost a fight, and you can't pick now to start because losing this means you lose HIM!"

"But…!"

"NO BUTS!" Tyler cut in, voice now a bona fide scream. "JUST DO IT! Get up and GET MOVING! If you love him, then help me save his life!!"

The harshness in his tone was an unwelcome addition to her already fragile state, causing her another fresh round of sobs as her mind whirled, finally stopping her straight when she realized one thing.

Tyler was right.

Derek had never given up, though he had lost the fight earlier that day. And because of it, he was lying in a hospital bed hanging on by a thread because he took a bullet for her – the woman he said he loved.

The woman who was giving up on him, after he had given his life to protect her.

"No…" she whispered softly, taking a huge breath in to steady herself.

"I'm not going to lose him…!" she finally shouted back as her strength slowly returned to her. "We're NOT going to lose him!" she exclaimed, beginning her search for the bag again.

"So let's get going, and fast – he's gone if we don't act NOW!"

Tyler turned his eyes back to the monitors, still in complete disbelief.

"_I have no idea how you're holding on, man, but whatever you're doing... please don't stop."_

--

"_Derek, I didn't..."_

"_I said, NO!" Derek yelled again, stumbling slightly backwards. The physical and emotional pain dominating him began to be too much for his already exhausted body to handle, as shown by his haphazard movements as he tried desperately to put space between him and the man that had betrayed him._

--

Crawling around on the ground, Angie searched under the nearby chairs and tables to no avail, unable to find the bag wherever she looked and running out of possibilities.

"_Come on, Ang, slow down and think. If you were with Derek, what would you do?"_

Placing her hand on the ground as she prompted herself to crawl forward once again, she felt her weight slip from underneath her as she went sprawling out on the hard tile with a loud smack.

"Owww… SHIT!" she groaned painfully, rolling to her side and lying there for a moment before opening her eyes gently.

Suddenly she froze, gaze fixed underneath the bed as suddenly the sting of her fall melted away.

There, underneath Derek's bed and tucked behind one of the legs, was the bag she had been searching for – and if she hadn't been in that exact position, she wouldn't have seen it in a million years. Having put her hand directly onto the tears that she had cried had sent her toppling into that spot, and it was the extreme klutziness that instantly reminded her of none other than the man lying in the bed above her.

"I FOUND IT!" she shrieked, rolling onto her stomach and using her toes to propel herself under the bed.

Tyler, with a great sigh of relief, heard Angie scurry under the bed as his eyes met the monitors again, still haphazardly pressing on Derek's chest with his free hand to force his body to breathe for him. He wasn't getting the kind of breaths he needed, but it was keeping his oxygen level constant for the time being until something else could be done.

"You got it, Ang? HURRY!" he yelled again.

"Almost there!" she cried back, reaching her hand out in front of her as she stretched, pushing her body as far as it would go. With one last push of her toes she moved forward, fingertips brushing the plastic of the bag…

Just as the monitor blared a flatline.

--

_Chest heaving rapidly, Derek struggled against what felt like the weight of the world on his ribcage – a pressure so great he literally had to put all the energy he had into taking one inward breath. His inhalations quickly became loud and wheezing and his legs finally gave out on him, sending him crashing to the floor and desperately gasping for air. In a split second Alex had skidded to his side, crouched down next to his son and fixated on him as even through the pain, Derek desperately tried to crawl away from him._

_And although it broke his heart, Alex stood from Derek's side and moved backward, a painful thumping in his chest as he watched his only son in pain, knowing he could do nothing to help him. _

_Hyperventilation began settling in the surgeon's chest, breaking up his pained cries with deep, wheezing breaths that quickened in pace and intensity. Fingers grappling against the cold floor he rested on, Derek tried with all his might to pull himself away from his father, toes trying to propel him forward though he was barely traveling anywhere. He was losing strength fast, and could feel it as his breaths suddenly began to slow and his body lurched to a stop, his head lowering until his cheek gently met the floor. _

_Staring out into what little light remained in the world surrounding him, Derek blinked back tears as his body continued to slowly heave, his chest limited in movement by the floor he now rested on. He kept his brown eyes fixated on the small hole that he could see his life through, tears picking up and clouding his vision as he wondered how it could have possibly come to this. Brown eyes watched as Angie panicked next to his lifeless body, knowing that he wanted nothing more than to wake up at that very moment and stop her from crying a second longer, but he couldn't. Anything he wanted to do while he was on Earth he found a way to do, even while facing impossible odds... but when it came to the one thing he __**needed**__ to do, he had failed._

"_Angie..." he felt himself whisper in between breaths, his voice in shudders as he took one last look at her before tears clouded his vision completely._

"_I'm... sorry."_

_It was the final thing to come out of his mouth before the last bit of light in Derek's world closed into blackness. _

--

Both Tyler and Angie instantly froze.

Angie, still under the bed with the ambu bag now tightly clenched in her hand, felt her eyes immediately fill with tears again. Tyler's mouth dropped wide open as he stared at the screen in disbelief, before his body threw him into action again.

"NO – dammit… NO!"

The nurse nearly flew out from under the bed, scraping her back badly against the bed frame as she slid out. Paying it no mind as she didn't even feel it happen, she rushed to the head of the bed and clipped the end of the bag into the tubing now coming from Derek's throat. Hands shaking uncontrollably, she willed her fingers to get a firm grasp on the bag, beginning to pump it as her head spun around to monitor the machine now causing a racket.

She whipped her head back to Tyler with a panicked stare that put the one she had been wearing earlier to shame. He had since ripped open Derek's button-up pajama shirt, and was now switching his gaze between her and the monitors.

"Asystole… T-Tyler… do something!"

--

_Though Derek couldn't see it any longer, Alexander saw everything. _

_On his side of things, he took a breath of relief as he watched Derek's body suddenly slow to a peaceful state, the stress seemingly dropping from it as he finally allowed himself to relax._

_But that relief quickly turned to horror as he turned to the real world, watching the jolts on the screen next to Derek's bed suddenly turn into a flatline, accompanying by the steady beep that instantly made Alexander ready to vomit for what seemed like the millionth time that day._

"_No." he said once, moreso in disbelief than anguish. But as he watched Angie and Tyler suddenly begin to panic, even more urgency in their actions than before, he realized it was as real as real could get._

_Vaulting to his feet, Alex stumbled and fell in his panic, his hands hitting the ground before the rest of him tumbled down as well. The force sent him skidding towards his son with a pained cry, his chest beginning to heave as his eyes pricked with tears. _

"_Derek!" he yelled, blinking the tears back though they continually tried to fight through anyway. Now on his hands and knees, Alex crawled as fast as he could manage towards his son, realizing that even though Derek hadn't traveled far, time was passing so slowly that it had taken what seemed like an eternity to reach him._

--

"I'm starting manual compressions!" Tyler yelled, stomping on the lever near the bottom of Derek's bed to lower the mattress to a workable level. Placing his left hand on top of his right he intertwined his trembling fingers and curled them forward, exposing the heel of his right hand, which he placed directly in the center of Derek's chest.

"Come on, Derek…" Tyler whispered, breaths unsteady as his arms gave short, constant compressions to Derek's torso.

"T-There's one round…" Angie sniffled a minute later, blinking the tears from her eyes as she turned back to the monitor. "No r-response."

"We're _not _giving up." Tyler replied again, voice lowered to a whisper. Even barely making sound he could still feel his voice crack, trying to hold back emotions that he knew he couldn't afford to let out.

He had to be strong enough to hold Angie together and save Derek at the same time.

--

_Alexander rose onto his knees and bent over his motionless son, grunting as he strained to roll him over onto his back. He was successful, and in an instant Alex seated himself cross-legged on the ground and had gathered Derek into his arms, holding him as he bit back another round of tears with success, though it required near constant blinking to do so._

"_Derek!" he exclaimed, looking into his son's distant gaze. Derek's eyes were open and locked with his father's, but instead of the life he was used to seeing, they were cold, defeated and lined with fear._

"_Dad..." Derek whispered, his tear-stained cheeks finally getting the best of his father as he began to cry with his only son. Unconsciously, he began rocking him back and forth like he used to when he was a young boy, recalling those memories vividly as while they had been apart, they filled his mind with each passing day. Every time he looked down on him from heaven, Alex hoped to hold his son like he was one day, but this... this was too soon, this wasn't how it was supposed to happen._

"_Dad... it's over." Derek whispered so softly it was barely audible. "It just... isn't meant to be. Whatever I had down there is finished – I'm not supposed to go back."_

"_No!" his father retorted. "Do NOT say that Derek, you're not done yet! Do you hear me!?" _

_His voice began to crack, tears falling from his cheeks as he looked forward to see Angie and Tyler working themselves to the bone to give Derek everything they had to give. They were naïve, rarely having had the experience of losing a patient – naturally, they were assuming that this situation would be the same as all the others in which they had managed to prevail._

_And even though Alex hoped that would be the case, he was beginning to honestly doubt that it was possible... though he would never admit it out loud. _

"_I missed out on so much, Derek, and you can't do the same! You have so much to live for – please don't give up now!"_

_Derek felt his strength increase at that moment, knowing that his defeat was mostly due to the man who was staring at him from above – the man who had failed him then just like he had when he was a young boy. _

--

"We're almost two minutes in! T-Tyler, we HAVE to do something! We're… h-he's…"

"We're NOT losing him! He's not going anywhere, we just have to keep going! Push a round of Epi – NOW!"

As Angie reached off to her right and fumbled through the supply cart, Tyler was keeping a steady count in his head, thirty pumps for every two breaths that Angie was giving him from the ambu bag.

"_Twenty-four, Twenty-five, Twenty-six..."_

Brown eyes flickered up to the monitor again, growing fearful – the flat line hadn't so much as budged.

"_Twenty-seven, Twenty-eight..."_

"Angie…" he said slowly and softly, both of them trying to stay on count as he prepared himself to tell her what was next.

"Y-Yes?" she replied, tears still streaming down her face as she shuddered out a response to him.

"_Twenty-nine, Thirty – breath one, breath two – One, Two..."_

Angie had already ripped open the packaging holding the syringe and had attached a needle faster than she though possible. Pulling 10 mL of saline solution into the syringe for dilution, she quickly removed the needle when finished and inserted it into the inverted epinephrine bottle before Tyler suddenly called out to her.

"Wait!" he said, stopping her instantly with an inquisitive stare. "Before you do this – you're going to have to get the defibrillator … _Three, Four, Five_… If he goes back to V-fib…_Eight, Nine_… it's the only chance he's got, and we'll have to do it right away."

"Right!" she exclaimed, quickly placing the bottle onto the side table with the needle still in it. Ready to run from the bedside, Angie stopped again, frantically looking back towards Tyler.

"B-But, what will you do while I'm gone!?" she exclaimed, body fighting between bolting out the door and waiting for his response.

"I'll take care of it – just go!" he suddenly exclaimed, breaking his concentration. "Hurry!"

Placing a knee on the bed for leverage, Tyler gripped the bag in his left hand and continued compressions with his right, slightly faltered by the exhaustion filtering through his body, though he persisted without so much as a second thought.

It was going to take a hell of a lot more than being tired to make him give up now.

"Dammit, Derek… Come ON!"

--

"_Derek." Alexander said with urgency in his voice, shaking his son gently to get him to snap back into the reality surrounding them. "Please say something... you can't be giving up – not after how far you've come!"_

_The pain and weakness that had taken Derek over quickly took a backseat to the anger rising within him – the anger that he had carried for years and was mow manifesting itself in that very moment. The man who currently cradled him was an impostor – he was nothing like the father he used to know, simply for the fact that THAT man would've never dreamed of putting his son through something as painful as this._

_And even if it took his last strength away from him, Derek wanted him to know that._

_With a shaking hand, Derek reached upward, his fingers tightly curling around the front of Alex's shirt as he pulled down towards himself. With their noses just a hair away from touching, Derek's eyes pierced his fathers as he opened his mouth to speak the harshest words he could've ever said to the man he had missed every day that he was gone._

"_I wish you had N-NEVER come here." _

_With anger still in his eyes, Derek watched as his father's expression changed from concerned to devastated – looking in through Alex's eyes and into his soul, Derek could pinpoint the exact moment that his father's heart shattered into pieces._

--

Moments later, Angie came dashing back into the room with the defibrillation cart in tow, wheeling it to Tyler's side of the bed before she sprinted back around to stand opposite from him.

"Alright, let's do it!" Tyler said, returning to regular compressions as Angie took over breathing duties. Right hand still pumping, he reached his left hand up to his forehead to wipe away the accumulation of sweat that was dripping down into his eyes, the work taking a significant physical toll on his already drained body. After giving Derek two subsequent breaths, she quickly placed the bag next to his head to ready the next step. After pulling some plain saline solution into her syringe to dilute the coming epinephrine, she quickly moved onto the medication she had previously abandoned.

Picking up the bottle of epinephrine, Angie willed herself to still the tremble in her hands long enough to tip the bottle upside down, insert the needle and think about the situation at hand.

_Derek is near 65 kilograms, .5 mg should be fine..._

Carefully observing the clear liquid as it spilled into the syringe, Angie quickly reached the mark and pulled the needle from the bottle as she dropped it into her pocket for the time being. She grabbed for the ambu bag again, squeezing it once, resting, then giving it one last squeeze before dropping it again in favor of her syringe. Taking Derek's IV into her left hand, her right pushed the needle into the tubing and slowly began to filer the solution through until the plunger of the syringe met its base. Whirling around, her eyes immediately glued themselves to the monitor as her hand picked up the bag once again, vision eyeing the flatline like a hawk as she waited for the slightest bump, fluctuation – anything that would allow her to make a move.

"Come on, Derek…" she whispered under her breath, chest heaving heavily, as the weight of the world seemed to be resting on it in that very moment.

--

_Tears accumulating faster than before, Alex breathed in and out gently, trying not to let his son's words get to him as knew he was the only person Derek had left._

"_You don't mean that." he said gently. "This is the hardest thing you'll ever have to go through – I know it's tough."_

"_You don't know ANYTHING!" Derek fought back, wincing in pain again as his voice raised in volume. "And I __**absolutely**__ mean it – I wish you had never come here! And you DON'T know what this is like because you're the person who GAVE UP before, remember?"_

"_Now that's ENOUGH!" Alex retaliated harshly, though he was still crying._

"_No, it's not! It'll never be enough – you can't give me this song and dance because in case you don't remember, YOU'RE the one who stopped fighting. You promised me you wouldn't when I was little, but you did. You ruined my life, and you've come back to do it again!"_

"_How on EARTH is helping you through this ruining your life?" Alexander exclaimed incredulously, now so angry at the situation that he moved out from under Derek and rose to his feet._

"_Because you're not being realistic!" Derek bit. "You knew there was a possibility that this wasn't going to work out, but you still stayed here, put me through an EXCRUCIATING amount of work and pain, and it ended up being a complete failure in the end! Just like when I was little – you put all this false hope out there and then took it all away... it never even mattered to you because you didn't have to ever LIVE with it!"  
_

"_I live with it EVERY SINGLE DAY, Derek!" Alex yelled, whirling around to look at his son, his hands firmly on his hips now. "I can see EVERYTHING that happens from up here – do you think a day doesn't go by when I don't feel like breaking down because I see what my loss has done to you and your mother? That I don't wish with everything I have that I could be there to see you grow into the man you've become? It's the most heartbreaking thing I've ever had to endure – even through death I still haven't found peace because I can't stop worrying about the two of you. You think I CHOSE this?! That I WANTED to die and leave you two with that burden?!"_

"_I don't know!" Derek replied, tears running down his face as even talking caused an immense amount of pain. "What I do know is that if you would've just left me the HELL alone, I would've passed on like I was obviously supposed to – you came here pretending to be a hero to 'save' me, but don't think for a MINUTE that I believe you! This is all your fault!"_

--

Continuing compressions, Tyler felt a wave of nausea sweep him and cause his legs to wobble as he watched the monitor do absolutely nothing. He quickly shook it off and kept pumping away, arms burning and shoulders ready to fall out of their sockets at any moment, though it didn't deter him in the least.

"We'll do one more round of compressions and then we're trying again!" Tyler snapped, not paying Angie any mind as she stared on at him with concern.

"Do you want me to take over?" she cried, hands squeezing the bag gently to give Derek breaths as Tyler continued.

"No – I've got it…"

"But you've been going for so…"

"I SAID I'VE GOT IT, alright?!" he shouted, unremorseful even after he saw her rear back with hurt in her eyes.

Knowing the panic was finally settling in, Tyler began to talk himself out of it. _"Don't let this get you – you CAN'T let this break you, or you'll lose him. Get it together!"_

If only it were that easy.

"_Nineteen, twenty..._ twenty-one, twenty-two…"

Tyler gradually transitioned from counting in his head to counting out loud to signify the round was almost up, and right on-cue, Angie quickly dropped the bag and pulled another round of the epinephrine and saline solution mixture into the syringe, ready to inject as soon as she gave another round of breaths with the bag.

"Twenty-nine, thirty…" Tyler said, pausing for her to inject the epinephrine once more. Quickly he picked up compressions again, him and Angie's eyes both glued to the monitor again as they waited for a response.

But still, there was nothing.

Staring intently, Angie blinked her eyes repeatedly as tears welled in them again, knowing that she couldn't afford to have her vision clouded or she may miss something vital.

Tyler, still watching as well, felt another wave of nausea overtake him, slowly spreading through his body as he began to lose hope.

This couldn't be happening – they were world-class medical professionals, and they were losing their patient, despite every conceivable effort.

And what made it worse, was that it was the one patient they absolutely couldn't afford to let go.

The one patient who had taught them all so much – most specifically, to never give up… though, that very patient was seemingly doing just that… giving up on them when they needed him the most.

At this thought, the nausea Tyler felt was quickly replaced with a rage that began branching from his chest and through every last inch of his body, until he became so frustrated that he literally couldn't take it anymore.

"God DAMMIT!" he shouted, voice cracking as his eyes pricked with tears and his exhausted body continually made it harder every second for him to keep going. Against its wishes, however, Tyler persisted, through his pace had dropped slightly as he tried to keep from crying.

"Would you quit FUCKING around, Derek!" Tyler yelled, causing Angie to jump and the tears she was holding back to start welling in her eyes again. "Please?! Derek, come ON!" he exclaimed, voice dropping from a yell and more into a desperate plea. Angie blinked her tears back just as Tyler's began to fall down his cheeks, a sob breaking its way loose as Angie turned back to look at the monitor again.

"This can't be it…" she said gently, giving him another breath. "This is NOT it, we are NOT quitting!"

"But…"

"NO!" she yelled, stopping him. "You've got to keep up with compressions – it's the only way the solution gets through to his heart! Just keep going… p-please, just keep going!"

"Angie, we've been at this for twenty minutes…" Tyler said, his voice in shudders, though he still continued with compressions.

"I don't CARE!" she yelled back, whipping her head towards him just long enough to enunciate the last word. "There has to be something we can do – all of this just doesn't make any sense! He's flatlined, but this _doesn't_ feel like normal asystole… it just doesn't! It's not right, Tyler – none of this…" she cried, feeling hyperventilation take ahold of her again. "…this can't happen – it isn't right!"

Tyler sighed, sniffling once. "I know, and I feel that too… but I think you and I both know what this really means… a-and, I want to k-keep trying too, A-Angie… I do…" he gently tapered off, sniffling heavily again as he looked back down at Derek. His head instantly snapped back up and he fixated his stare across the room, realizing that looking at Derek was impossible – it made the reality of the situation hit him like never before and he knew deep down there was no way he could handle it… now, or ever, really.

"No." Angie repeated, trying to steady her breathing. "Too much of this just doesn't make sense… every single thing that has happened to him in the last day makes NO sense!" she interjected, feeling more and more panicked by the second as the last person fighting with her became ready to give up. "He can't just go from a coma that was fluctuating to trying to breathe on his own, to squeezing m-my hand…" she went on, stopping at the last part when her eyes filled with tears again. "…a-and then straight to asystole? It just doesn't go that way! He would've crashed a long time ago instead of staying stable as long as he has! He's still holding on somehow and w-we just have to f-figure out…"

Stopping abruptly, Angie whirled back around to look at Tyler, who was eyeing her remorsefully, though it turned into curiosity as he saw the enlightened expression on her face.

Without saying a word, Angie rushed over to the monitor and fiddled with the controls to it, examining it closely as she toggled through the settings.

"What… are you d-doing?" he asked in between staggered breaths, still giving compressions to the friend that lay below him.

"It's rare…" she began, eyes fixed to the screen as she reached for the dial on the right side of the machine. "V-Very rare, but so is this situation…"

--

"_Oh, it's my fault?!" Alex shot back immediately. "It's MY fault that you're still here, which means, obviously still alive? It's my fault that you've been continually hanging on down there, re-forming connections with those you love when you couldn't even RECOGNIZE them before I helped you? Look around, Derek – it may be dark here, but it's not over! And if you gave half a SHIT about what I've been trying to tell you, you could've gotten rid of me and gone back to your old life a LONG time ago!"_

_Derek's eyes closed into slits at his father's words, wanting to lash out at him though he lacked the energy necessary to do so._

"_Obviously I can't get rid of you, because you don't know what you're talking about! We spent that WHOLE time trying to figure out who Angie was, and as soon as I got it you said I'd be able to go back... Well, there she is, the love of my life – DOWN THERE, while I'm still up here with YOU. You brought me to the edge of this to remember the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, only to tell me I'll never get to see her again? That I'll never get to tell her how I feel? How dare you think that you're ANYTHING but a fraud..." Derek finished, breathing heavily as his voice eventually softened from lack of energy._

_Alex took a deep breath inward, trying to calm himself._

"_Now you know how I feel every single day. And that's why I'm here, because I never want you to know the pain of being a world away from the people you love."_

--

Turning the dial clockwise, both Angie and Tyler's eyes widened as far as they could go as they watched the previous flatline start to ripple very slightly across the screen…

…so slightly, that it wasn't even strong enough for the machine to normally pick it up.

--

_Silence remained between the two, both of the Stiles firmly locked into an intense gaze with one another._

"_And for the record, I didn't lie to you, Derek – this process is trial and error." Alexander replied through his distress. "I don't know what's happening... maybe... maybe she's not it, Derek – maybe she's just a big piece of the puzzle! Think... what else can there be - what makes you who you are?"_

"_That was the last person who meant anything to me." Derek whispered. "She's it – if that's not the answer, then I don't know if there is one."_

_Alex took a step forward, kneeling next to his son. "There's always an answer, Derek – it just depends on how hard you're willing to fight to find it."_

_He paused._

"_I wish you could see the world below you right now, but your body is hanging on by a thread. I can't bring it back for you like I did before – this is your only chance, and if we don't figure it out there's no going back."_

"_I don't care." Derek flatly replied, rolling himself gently onto his back with a wince as he did so. "I'm done with this, and I'm especially done with you. You were never there for me growing up – what makes you think I would need you now?"_

--

"Holy shit…" Tyler whispered, feeling a second burst of energy course through him as he started on at it.

Angie turned towards him and sighed momentarily in disbelief as the two immediately mentally changed their course of action.

"Fine V-fib…" Tyler whispered again. "Fine FUCKING V-fib, Angie! He WOULD do that to us, wouldn't he?!"

His voice raised to a shout just as a smile broke out over his and her faces, replaced quickly by a look of determination. "Take over compressions!"

"Fine ventricular fibrillation." he repeated out loud as he ripped the paddles from the defibrillator and turned the machine on. "…Masks itself as asystole because the rhythm is basically non-existent. I haven't seen it since med school and never thought I would again…"

"Now's not the time to let your guard down, Dr. Chase!" Angie snapped, seemingly right back to her normal self once again. "Let's go – I have no idea what kind of window we're working with here, so MOVE!"

"That's the Angie I've been waiting for!" he replied, standing waiting with the paddles already gelled-up and ready to go. He sniffled again and blinked the tears out of his vision, taking a deep breath as they tried their last course of action.

"Charging to 200…" he said, eyes on the machine as the charge seemed to crawl to its destination. "…CLEAR!"

In one fluid motion, Angie quickly pulled her hands from Derek and took a small step back, just as Tyler's hands pressed the paddles onto Derek's chest – the left one just under his left collarbone and the right one on the bottom right of his chest. With a flick of each thumb, he activated the shock and Derek's body immediately spiked. Within a split-second it dropped onto the bed again, the faint rhythm unchanging.

"Charging to 300!" Tyler shouted, feeling that same sickening feeling of failure sweep him again, though he brushed it off as soon as he noticed – failure, in this situation, simply wasn't going to happen.

"CLEAR!" he shouted, delivering another shock.

Both he and Angie eyed the monitor again, no change in the marginal fibrillation that had overtaken Derek's heart. Realizing it still hadn't worked, both the doctor and the nurse felt their hearts instantly plummet into their stomachs, having their high hopes shattered for what seemed like the millionth time that week.

"Will you fucking STOP IT, dude?!" Tyler yelled at his best friend's unconscious form, now paying no mind to the tears running down his face. "S-Seriously, you can't do this… you've gotta get up! Come ON, Derek… T-This isn't FUNNY anymore!" he screamed, voice repeatedly cracking through broken sobs as he took in deep shuttering breaths.

"Please, Derek…" Angie whispered as she continued compressions, now crying generously again as well. Her eyes moved to Tyler, who looked as drained as she had ever seen him.

The usually meticulous, master surgeon standing with a patient below him had cracked, and he could feel it. His mind screamed to him to pick up the pace, to move faster or it was over, but his body couldn't manage to follow suit. Instead it lagged, forcing him to face the fact that he didn't want within a mile of his brainwaves:

This was their last shot.

This shock, this last attempt, was it. Panicked at the thought of it, his eyes met Angie's for a brief second, knowing the instant he met her stare that they were sharing the exact same feelings of fear and hesitation.

This was their last chance to ever see Derek alive again, and it rested in their hands. Either it was successful, or it ended then and there.

And Tyler couldn't bring himself to find out which one it was going to be.

--

_Alexander's eyes filled with tears again, his son's words hitting him straight in his already shattered heart. _

"_Derek, please don't say that..." he whispered gently. "Please."_

_The surgeon turned his head slowly to his right, eyes locking again with his father's as he began to cry as well. Alex reached his hand out and brushed Derek's hair out of his eyes, sniffling softly as he did so._

"_I'm sorry if I've caused you this pain, but it was meant to help you – I never want you to hurt, even if it's for a good reason. And I know I've caused you a lot of pain in your life, but all I wanted to do was make sure you didn't leave this Earth before it was truly your time... if you think this is the worst pain you've ever felt, you haven't seen anything yet."_

_Alex sighed again, his hand now gently resting on Derek's chest._

"_I just wish you wouldn't say things like that – words hurt just as much as anything else..."_

"_Why shouldn't I say it?" Derek asked, feeling a sudden surge of strength within himself. "It's the truth. Because, when you think about it, you're responsible for every major pain I've had in my life – including this one."_

_Alex said nothing as Derek continued his verbal assault, knowing that he had caused his son a lifetime of pain when what he had wanted all along was to have taken it all away. He was right – he had died, left them alone at a fragile time in the boy's life... and even though it was in no way his decision, he still felt responsible for it every day that went on._

"_I mean, think about it." Derek continued, not caring that he was devastating his father with every vengeful statement that came from his mouth. "This situation is even your fault – this never would've happened if I wouldn't have become a doctor!"_

_As soon as the statement left his mouth, Derek's eyes nearly rolled into the back of his head as a fiery pain shot through his whole body, prompting him to roll over onto his stomach with an excruciating scream._

_Instantly, Alex snapped out of his depression and moved closer to his son, hands instinctively rubbing his back as he tried to figure out what had happened._

"_Derek – what's going on, are you okay?!" he asked in a panic, noting that his son's anguished cries were growing more dreadful by the moment._

--

"We l-love you, man…" Tyler said, his voice raspy and strained. "You can do this… I KNOW you can do this…"

The surgeon took one last chance to glance at Angie, who gave him a gentle, tearful nod as she continued on with the compressions, sniffling once as she did so. And with that affirmation, Tyler reached to his side and turned the dial to 360 Joules, his exhausted brown eyes following the meter as it slowly approached and hit its mark in a matter of seconds.

With a deep shuddering breath that felt like it could easily have been his last, Tyler gently called for Angie to clear the area, and holding that big breath, placed the paddles on Derek's chest one last time.

He gently felt his eyes shut as each second _crawled_ by, his thumbs readied on the yellow buttons that adorned the black paddles.

All he had to do was push them.

--

"_I would've never bec---agh!"_

_Interrupted by another pained scream, Derek rolled back over, tears rolling down his face at the incredible amount of pain rushing through his body. His father quickly moved to put himself eye to eye with Derek, staring at him with enormous concern as he thrashed about with seemingly no reason behind it._

_But gradually, Derek stifled the pain he was feeling enough to be able to speak, though the tears never stopped flowing._

"_I wouldn't b-be h-here..." he started, biting his lip to keep from crying out. "I w-would've n-never become – ngh… a doctor..."_

_He stopped, a faint smile crossing his lips as he stared up at his father._

"_...i-if it w-wasn't for you."_

_Never having realized it until the moment it came from Derek's lips, Alexander Stiles smiled brightly, tears clouding his vision at the words. _

"_After I died..." Alex began, sniffling._

"_...I m-made a promise – to n-never let it h-happen again." Derek finished, his voice shaky from a combination of tears and the pain still dominating him._

"_Derek..." Alex said, a smile breaking through his tears. "You've got it."_

_Derek shook his head quickly. "I d-don't know..."_

"_But I do." Alex replied, reaching forward to gently caress his son's face. "We were so focused on what other people meant to you, we never really did what we were supposed to do... and that was figure out who you are, and why God's keeping you alive for another day."_

_Tears still in his eyes, the anger filling Derek's gaze had dissipated as he listened to his father, feeling more guilt than he ever had in his life for the things that had just come from the deepest parts of his soul._

"_You're a doctor, Derek. You have been through an immense amount of pain in your life, but you never let that deter you from your dreams, and this is no exception."_

_Derek paused, cracking a small smile. "I guess I was right – it i-is your fault."_

_Alex laughed and reached up to wipe a tear from his cheek, knowing that an end was coming to this bittersweet moment very soon._

"_I never w-wanted anyone to feel t-that kind of pain again, a-after I lost you..." Derek whispered, strength coming back to him as he managed to pull himself into a seated position with his father's help. _

"_And I'm sorry you had to go through that hurt because of me, but you have to know that I am so proud of you for what you turned it into. You could've only focused on yourself, but instead, you found a way to take that pain and use it to make the world a better place. You are an extraordinary man, Derek... and that passion for other people is what makes you who you are."_

_Gripping tightly onto his father's hand, Derek rose to stand next to him, sniffling still._

"_But, what about all those people? Why was this whole process about them at the beginning?"_

"_With or without those people, you were always the same person deep down." Alex began, his brown eyes shining as he looked at his son face to face. "If I wouldn't have died, you still might have become a doctor, but you wouldn't have a personal reason to drive you as hard as you've worked yourself - you might have ended up in the same place or you might not have. And regardless of how long they stay or how well you know them, every person in your life has impacted you in one way or another. Everything you've become was always inside of you, but it's the people you love that draw it out and help you make it a reality."_

_Derek dropped his head at his father's words, wiping tears from his cheeks as he let the pain dissipate from his mind, instead focusing on the last few moments he knew he would spend with the man he had missed for so many years._

"_Dad..." he started with a whisper. "I'm... I'm so sorry."_

_Walking forward, Alex embraced his son in a tight hug and held him there, knowing that even though the words had hurt, he in no way would ever hold them against him._

"_I didn't mean any of it – I never blamed you for leaving... I just wish you wouldn't have had to leave so soon..."_

"_I know, Derek... and I do too. You don't have to feel sorry – like I said before, it's an unimaginably hard thing to go through. My death happened so fast, I wish I could've had the chance to fight, because there's no way I ever would've given up... much like you just did."_

_Alex paused with a smile._

"_And think about it – even though there has been some pain, who knows where you would be without it? You're doing something you love, you've got amazing friends who would do anything for you, and in the process, you found the love of your life... It's just life – we can't be afraid to experience a little pain, because from it can come the most amazing gifts."_

_Derek nodded with a smile and another sniffle, pulling out of his father's grasp. _

"_I know, but I still miss you every day." he said gently. "I do what I do to make you proud, and to keep that promise I made before."_

"_I know, and I am very proud of you, Derek... I always have been, and I always will be."_

_With a smile and another set of tears sliding down his cheek, Alex stepped away from his son for the last time, ready to leave him for the second time in his short life._

"_I'll be here when it's really time for us to meet again... but until then..." he started, pausing as emotion overtook him._

"_...I love you."_

_Derek stayed rooted in his spot, knowing he wanted to run after his father and stay with him a little longer, though he couldn't. It was time to move on – they would be together again one day, and that time it would be forever._

"_I... I l-love you too, Dad. T-Thank you, s-so much..."_

"_Anything for my son. Take good care of your mother for me, please."  
_

_Derek nodded. "I will."_

_With a wave, Alex took another step away from Derek, the distance growing between them by the second though neither man was moving._

"_Goodbye, Derek."_

_Derek took a big breath inward and smiled softly._

"_Bye, Dad."_

--

Finally letting his breath go, Tyler whispered a prayer to God and squeezed the buttons on the paddles simultaneously. Underneath his shaking hands he could feel as they discharged their energy into the surgeon's flesh, followed by a soft, padded thud that accompanied the spike in Derek's body and its subsequent fall against his mattress.

In that moment, Tyler Chase knew there was nothing more that he could do. All his training, all the experience he had was exhausted on that one person – he had no more left to give.

And strangely, in that same moment, he felt a strength sweep over him that calmed the bone-chilling nausea that had seemingly followed him that whole week. The world became instantly silent, the only sound audible to him was that of his own gentle breathing. Finding peace for the first time in what seemed like forever, Tyler took a moment to stand with his eyes still closed, feeling a comfort that he had been searching for through the personal hell that had become the last two months. With his head hung, the paddles slowly slid from his fingers until they dropped from his hands completely and clattered loudly against the machine and against each other, now swinging by their cords haphazardly.

He didn't hear the clatter.

He felt his chest heave, but didn't hear the accompanying shuddering breath.

He didn't hear the gasp from across the bed, and the short cry that came after it.

But he heard the beep.

The single beep that broke through the cloud of silence that had enshrouded him.

The single beep that was shortly followed by another… and another.

And before he even bothered to open his eyes, Tyler felt tears running down his cheeks, his body ready to collapse from exhaustion as he finally found the strength to open his eyes.

"Oh my God."

It was all he could bring himself to say, and even though he had managed to utter the words, they had passed on such a thin breath he had barely heard himself speak. A disbelieving chuckle escaped his lips as Tyler forced his eyes to remain open even through the near unbearable burning that had flooded them in his exhaustion. With his heart hammering away in his chest, he watched as the machine that had been going wild moments before was now calm and quiet, tracing a steady heartbeat over the screen as the doctor who had helped bring it back just stared on in complete shock.

It was no trick, no game, no hallucination…

They had done it.

Derek Stiles was alive.

--

The small waiting room that held the remainder of Derek's friends and loved ones was as still as it had been since they had all taken occupancy there. All of them were completely exhausted and it showed, as Derek's mother had cried herself to sleep and the rest had nodded in and out of consciousness as varying times.

Nearly an hour and a half had passed since Sidney Kasal had watched Dr. Hoffman leave for Derek's room, never knowing that things would have turned out the way they had. He felt great remorse for the director for the fact that it was not the first time in his life he had dealt with incredible adversity. And while somewhere deep in Sidney's brain told him that he should be reassuring the surgeon at this point in time, he knew that the people surrounding him needed him more at that moment.

Or did they?

Shaking his head gently back and forth as if he could shake those thoughts straight from his head, Sidney couldn't help but continually wonder about the answer to that question. Where was he needed more? If that was the last time Robert Hoffman would step foot in Caduceus, then technically, he was the standing director of the hospital at that point, which meant he should stay for his employees – especially because one of them had just lost his life.

On the other hand, nobody in that hospital had been there more for Sidney than Robert had, especially when he lost his wife of only three short years. It was the most devastating time of his life, and Robert's situation was similar – he needed someone to be there for him, and the more Sidney thought about it, the more he realized he should be that person.

"_I should at least call him..."_

As soon as the thought made its way through Sidney's mind, however, it was broken by the beeping of his pager. His tired hand haphazardly fished into his pocket to find it as he continued to think, pulling the black device out in front of his face to read the screen.

And as soon as he read it, he was on his feet and into a full sprint before Leslie or Dr. Clarks could even blink an eye.

--

Still in shock, Tyler stared on at Derek's screen, now showing him the steady heartbeat that had been eluding the two of them since the moment they had started working on him.

"Oh my God…!" Angie repeated, tears still flowing as she crawled onto the side of Derek's bed. Leaning forward, her hands cupped his face gently and her face closed to within inches of his, waiting for some sort of sign, movement, anything that would tell her it was for real.

"Derek… Derek, o-open your eyes – p-please!" she pleaded in a soft voice, on alert as his body slightly stirred in his slumber.

Not moving from the same place he had been standing, Tyler watched with his heart still racing in his chest, waiting for something to happen as Angie tried her best to reach him. The only thing he had managed to do was take over breathing duties, as Derek was still intubated and this was no time to undo what they had just fought for.

She had been right all along – something about the situation had been wrong. He was fighting the whole time, and in that moment, their hard work would either be rewarded, or it would have all been a waste.

"Derek." Angie said, a little louder this time as she very gently shook him. "Derek, you h-have to wake up… please!"

He stirred again, this time with more movement. Angie gently shook him again and leaned her body forward, moving her right hand away from his cheek and placing a gentle kiss in its place.

"I know you can do this – come on, Derek. Open your eyes!"

She spoke gently into his ear, pulling back after she finished in order to watch him, her hands never leaving his face. Angie waited and watched as he remained motionless, feeling her emotions rise to the brink again – this filled her with more hope than she had that entire week, and if it ended up being another false alarm, it would simply break her.

But just as she became ready to let that happen, Derek's eyelids fluttered themselves, causing Tyler to instinctively move towards the bed to get a better look.

"Derek? Come on – wake up!" Tyler joined in, watching the surgeon like a hawk as again, his eyelids fluttered.

And just before Angie could ask him one more time, Derek Stiles' eyes gently cracked open the smallest bit, blinking repeatedly until they could get used to being open again – the first time they had been so in two excruciatingly long months.

As soon as they were open fully, Angie broke out into the biggest smile Tyler had ever seen come from her, though she was still crying.

"Derek!" she exclaimed quietly, completely overjoyed and trying as hard as possible not to fly in and hug him until he couldn't breathe.

Still intubated, Derek just stared back at Angie with an incredibly worn-out expression, her left hand abandoning his face and grabbing his hand in hers, instead. As soon as their fingers intertwined she smiled again, feeling him give her hand two squeezes, his gaze then moving over to Tyler. He instantly started crying again, this time out of complete relief and joy…

They had really done it.

"Hey dude!" he couldn't help but explain, sniffling as he stared on at his best friend. "Good morning!" was all he could think to say, as Angie just laughed at him.

Laughing quickly ceased however, as Derek's eyes slowly closed again, his head dropping to his right side.

"Derek… DEREK!" Angie nearly screamed, instantly in tears again as yet another potentially devastating blow beat on what was left of her already very low emotional tolerance.

"Angie!" Tyler exclaimed, lowering his voice to a whisper as he grabbed her arm and whirled her around to look at him.

"Relax." he simply said, pointing towards the vital monitor. "He's fine – he's probably just very tired."

Angie took a deep breath and slowly let it out, her eyebrow raising as Tyler motioned for her to take over breathing duties.

"Just for a second, please." he asked quietly, stepping away from Derek's bed as Angie followed his every move.

Wobbly legs sending him towards the door, Tyler picked up the wall phone and dialed a number he knew all too well.

"What are you doing?" Angie said, watching as he reached into his pocket and grabbed his cell phone for a second number.

Tyler exhaled gently, knowing that he didn't have long to wait before his exhausted body collapsed on him – but also realizing that he had to hang on just a little longer.

He picked up the receiver to the wall phone again, pressed it to his ear, and answered her before beginning to dial.

"Getting some help."

* * *

**Don't really have too much to say here, except I hope you liked it, and there's two (possibly 3) more chapters to come.**

**:)**

**-TCGeek  
**


	18. Miracle

**Surprise! Another chapter - and before another year passed, too :)**

**You are most likely going to be bored with this chapter. The last few were so packed with stuff that this one will seem a little dull, but that will be the tone from now on. This is an explanation chapter, maybe a little bit of filler but it's all important, I promise. Also, it's much shorter than the other chapters. Much.**

**And, it's a Sidney-centric chapter, strangely...  
**

**Just wanted to give everyone a big thanks - while I might not reply all the time, I read and love all the comments, messages, and reviews that you all leave. I hope to finish this story quickly, as I'm starting nursing school in a few weeks and life is sure to get hectic.**

**Anyway, I'll stop talking about things. Enjoy!  
**

* * *

Sidney Kasal was not a runner in the least.

Physically fit, sure, but not a runner. A biker, an outdoorsman, a man in love with his elliptical... just, not a runner. Anything and everything about it just never appealed to Sidney, but today was an exception.

Heart beating twice the speed of his feet hitting the ground, Sidney launched into a full sprint the second he received a page from Tyler Chase that simply flashed "911" across the tiny screen.

A blur of thoughts ran through his mind as to what the problem could be, knowing that the most probable option was that Tyler needed help dealing with what was sure to be a hysterical Nurse Thompson.

"Out of the way! MOVE!" he yelled at a group of nurses returning from the cafeteria, forcing loud shrieks as they jumped to avoid being plowed over. He was gone before any of them could process what had happened, and he rounded two more corners before skidding to a quick halt.

Swiping his security badge in the hallway leading to Derek's room, Sidney was greeted with the same sickening sight that befell Tyler Chase earlier that day. Alarms continuously blared at the nurses' stations as they had never been shut off, and though it deterred him momentarily while his brain ran wild, Sidney instantly broke out into a sprint again, headed directly for Derek's room.

As a leader of the world's most powerful medical facility, Sidney had found himself in some of the most unpredictable situations imaginable, but even he was shaken about the situation he was about to walk into. Nothing was harder than comforting people during the loss of a loved one, and it was especially hard when Sidney was grieving, himself.

He reached out a hand and felt the cold metal of the door handle radiate through his fingertips. Looking down at the sight, Sidney's eyebrows furrowed as he noticed that the normally solid hand was now trembling, and no matter how much his mind told it to, he couldn't get it to stop. He was no stranger to walking in on heartbreaking situations, but this one wasn't the same as all the rest. This time, no matter how many times he tried to keep it at arm's length, it had become personal.

And though he tried to keep professional at all times, the thought of being strong one for one more second literally made him sick.

With a big, uneven breath in, Sidney pushed on the handle and swung the door open, moving swiftly inside as his mind was instantly inundated with questions and confusion. Much like the last two people to enter the room, the normally unshaken chief was completely speechless, mouth slightly agape while he tried furiously to make sense of the situation. From everything he could take in, it appeared as though Derek Stiles was still alive – his vital monitor looked stable, and though it could have been his imagination, Sidney could swear that in some way, he looked… different.

But as his eyes settled on both Angie and Tyler, he noticed their sheer exhaustion and knew that there couldn't be such an easy answer. Something had happened – and it had taken work. He decided then that before he could get his hopes up like so many other times over the last two months, there were some questions to be answered.

"Alright, you two. Start talking."

-o-

"So, you both saw him open his eyes? Both of you saw this, you're positive?"

Tyler sighed at Sidney's question, his hand raising to rub his tired face – it was the third time he had managed to ask it through their story.

"Yes, Chief. I told you before – they were clearly open and he was responsive, and for a few seconds at that. We are very tired but we are not delusional, I promise."

"Dr. Chase, I am not trying to be deliberately disrespectful. You and I both know that the mind is a powerful thing, and sometimes, can trick us into seeing things that we desperately want to see." Sidney said, now leaning back against the door to Derek's room, his hands in his pockets. "I'm not accusing, I just need to make sure what you're saying is 100 percent, without a doubt the truth. I am about to take some very serious action that is going to cost us a lot of time, money, and manpower. It's your reputations on the line - I need you to be sure."

"We both saw it, Chief." Angie spoke gently. "You know how I feel about my reputation, and I'm willing to stake it on this without a second thought. I mean…" she trailed off, laughing gently. "As soon as Derek opened his eyes, the first thing Tyler did was laugh and say 'Good Morning!'"

Sidney smirked and the surgeon turned his head towards Angie with a tired grin and a laugh. "Did I seriously?" Tyler asked her, repositioning himself in his chair. "I don't even remember that… It's been a long day."

"You sure did." She replied, turning stern again. "But in all seriousness, Chief Kasal… it was a fight, but he's back, and stable. You can check the history on the monitor, you know it's been recording his progress ever since Derek has been here. He was in distress but now he's stable, and we have proof of that. As for what Tyler and I saw, we're two of your most reliable team members – we wouldn't mess around with this. He was responsive… he looked directly at both of us."

The three sat in silence momentarily, Sidney trading eye contact with both the surgeon and the nurse. When he saw the unwavering commitment in their eyes, he pushed himself off of the door he had been leaning against and paced towards the phone.

"Alright then. I'll take it from here."

Sidney all but ripped the wall phone from his cradle, fingers punching buttons as quickly as he could before pausing to wait for the other line to pick up.

"This is Director Kasal - I need to speak with Dr. Rogers immediately."

Angie and Tyler watched as Sidney's brow furrowed, just before they could hear him cut off the mumbling on the other end.

"I don't CARE if he's about to go into surgery – get him on the phone now... and that is an ORDER!"

"Whoa." Tyler whispered under his breath. Everyone in Caduceus knew not to ever refuse an order from Sidney Kasal, and now he knew why. He smirked gently when he heard a deeper voice come onto the other line.

"I need you to listen to me, Dr. Rogers, and listen to me good. You are not to speak one word of this to anyone else, but you are no longer going to perform the surgery you're scheduled for. I am replacing you, and you are to report to Derek Stiles's room immediately."

Sidney didn't even pause to let the doctor pose a rebuttal, instead slamming the phone back onto the wall and picking it up again to find a replacement for him. Within five minutes, he had contacted Dr. Ogata, the physical therapist that had been working with Derek, one of the hospital's top internists, a respiratory specialist, and a cardiologist, telling them each the same thing as he called:

"Your schedules are going to be cleared until further notice, and you are to report to Derek Stiles's room right now, without a word to anyone. Is that clear?"

Perched on the side of his bed and half rested against Derek, Angie smiled to herself watching Sidney work.

He was a very powerful man.

-o-

"This had better be good, I was just..."

Dr. Rogers stopped in the middle of his sarcastic response upon entering Derek Stiles's hospital room, eyes scanning the warzone and trying to make sense of the situation.

"What...?"

He stopped again, turning to Sidney before eyeing Derek's vital monitors.

"You're kidding." he said, rushing over to the monitor to check for himself. After it had processed in his brain he turned towards the other side of the bed, confusion on his face.

"Where are the monitor and the respirator?"

Tyler bit his lip and avoided eye contact with the doctor, instead leaning back in his chair wordlessly until Dr. Rogers paced around the bed and looked in the corner. Broken machinery lay shattered everywhere, and though his gaze angrily settled on Tyler, the surgeon could have cared less in that moment.

"What the hell happened? Do you have ANY idea how many thousands of dollars those pieces of machinery cost?"

"Relax, Dr. Rogers," Sidney gently warned. "that's obviously not what we're focused on right now. I've got new monitors on the way – your job, is to figure out what is happening to Derek and what we can do to keep him alive and responsive."

"Alright..." the neurosurgeon replied hesitantly, "...but, I need to know what happened."

Sidney pointed directly at Tyler and Angie just as the respiratory specialist, physical therapist, and internist entered the room.

"Well, you're looking at the only two witnesses. " he said to Dr. Rogers just as the rest of the doctors began to survey the situation. "Start talking and stop wasting time."

"Director Kasal?" Dr. Chu asked, one of the hospital's more experienced internists. "What's going on?"

"Okay doctors, listen carefully." Sidney began, huddling the doctors around him just as Angie and Tyler began explaining the situation to Dr. Rogers. "As we powered down Derek's respirator, his body suddenly became responsive. He slipped into a fine ventricular fibrillation and both Dr. Chase and Nurse Thompson performed CPR on him for quite some time. His vitals are stable for the moment but slipping, and there was a short period of time in which he became responsive and even opened his eyes. We need to figure out what's going on as soon as possible to maximize the chances of recovery and catch any signs of trauma before they worsen."

"So, what would you like us to do first?" Dr. Chu asked.

"You are going to run every test imaginable on him. I want to know every single aspect of Derek's health, and I want to know it immediately." Sidney responded, just as the door opened and Dr. Jones, the hospital's top cardiologist walked in, wheeling a new respirator and neurological monitors.

"What the hell?" Dr. Jones asked quietly to herself, but not so loud that Sidney hadn't heard her.

"We'll explain in a moment, Dr. Jones – just wheel that equipment over to Dr. Rogers." Sidney said, briefly rubbing his forehead before adjusting the glasses on his face. With all the confused people running in so many different directions, it was becoming much louder and more like a zoo than a hospital room, which quickly began to irritate Sidney.

"Dr. Yerkes," he began, turning towards the respiratory specialist, "Dr. Chase and Nurse Thompson are most concerned with Derek's lung function at the moment, so please begin with that. They have him intubated and Nurse Thompson is still using the ambu bag, but we need the respirator hooked up for the time being while you analyze him. Go!"

Dr. Yerkes immediately set to work hooking up the respirator with the help of the physical therapist, as Sidney moved to the center of the room to make an announcement.

"Okay everyone, listen up. Start running all the tests you need to run on him in order of most critical – I'll leave you all to decide what that order is. All results are to be directly discussed with me, and if you need me to sign for their urgency to have the labs cleared, page me and I will be back here. Work as quickly as possible and do not bother Nurse Thompson or Dr. Chase unless absolutely necessary – they have been through more than enough today."

"No, Chief... it's alright." Tyler interjected, tired form slouched in his chair. "We're worn out, yes, but if anyone needs our help please ask." he finished, Angie nodding in the background.

"Alright then." Sidney started again, hands now on his hips. "Let me remind you ALL..." he stopped, making sure to make hard eye contact with every occupant in the room, "...that this is top-secret information. You are to use the fake name I have supplied on all paperwork to keep suspicion to a minimum and may not so much as TALK to another person in this hospital until I tell you your obligations here are done. If at any point any of these directions are not followed, it will result in immediate termination, and don't think for a second that I'm messing around. Derek Stiles is your one and ONLY responsibility and we do not have room to make mistakes here. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Chief." was the resounding reply, the doctors now all staring at Sidney like deer in headlights.

"Now then." he said, opening the door for himself. "Get to work."

Sidney wasn't five steps out of the door before he had his cell phone in his hands, his thumb using the arrows to scroll through his address book as he landed on a familiar name.

Robert Hoffman.

The chief let out a sigh as he raised the phone to his ear, his feet carrying him down the hallway as he waited.

"_Hello, you've reached the voicemail of Dr. Robert Hoffman..."_

"Straight to voicemail, great..." he muttered as Robert's voicemail picked up instead of the doctor, whom Sidney was still urgent to speak with.

"Robert – it's Sidney. Listen, it's about Derek... he's okay, but I need you to call me as soon as you can, please."

He paused, the chilling air of the dead silence on the other end stirring the churning in his stomach. He knew the elder doctor had been crushed under the weight of his decision, but as it turned out, it had been for the best and he had to know that before he could beat himself up any more.

"If I don't hear from him in an hour, I'm going over there myself."

Sidney nodded to himself as the thought crossed his mind, knowing that his main obligation rested at Caduceus, but he couldn't afford to not be there for someone who had seen him through some of his darkest days.

Unfortunately for now, it would have to wait.

-o-

"Dr. Kasal?"

Before Sidney knew it, his legs had carried him out into the secluded waiting room and he was now standing in front of Leslie Sears and Dr. Clarks, the nurse rising to her feet and now blocking his way.

"Nurse Sears, Dr. Clarks…" he began, trailing off as he glanced around the waiting room and changed his train of thought completely.

"Where are Mrs. Stiles and Victor?"

"Oh… Mrs. Stiles cried until she fell asleep, so we put her in a nearby room to rest." Leslie began sadly. "And Victor went back to the lab to work – you know how he is with these types of things.."

"Yes, yes I do know." Sidney replied with hesitance, mind running.

Should he tell her the news about Derek? She was practically a natural loudspeaker, as he had learned before…

It was a gamble, but she was a close friend of his and deserved to know… Or, should he wait until things were more definite, as not to get their hopes up again?

Personal and professional desires pulled at him again, just like always. But this time, it was easy to make a decision when he heard Leslie speak.

"Chief." She began quietly, tears in her eyes as she stepped towards him. "Have you seen Tyler and Angie? They both haven't been back and I just n-needed to know if they were… taking everything okay." She asked, a hand running through her hair as she fought to stop from crying.

Sidney sighed, motioning for Leslie and Dr. Clarks to have a seat in the farthest corner of their waiting room. He pulled a chair up across from them and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and clasping his hands in front of him.

"I have seen Tyler and Angie, Leslie. I just came from Derek's room – they are worn out, but doing alright."

"That's good to hear. I know it's been a tough day for everyone." She said gently, looking down at her hands. "Are they going to move Derek soon?"

Sidney sighed to himself.

Professionalism could wait.

"Derek's not going anywhere, Leslie." Sidney started, piquing the interest of the nurse and Stephen. "He's not dead."

Leslie's eyes got as wide as saucers and Sidney sat back a bit and winced in preparation, knowing what was coming next…

"WHAT?" she shrieked, voice echoing down the hallway before she slapped a hand over her mouth and began to tear up again.

"Okay. If I am going to tell you this, realize that this is top secret information. Anyone else who knows has been told that if this gets out, I will fire whoever's responsible – and that extends to you two as well, got it?" Sidney asked sternly, receiving a nod from both Dr. Clarks and Leslie.

"He's not dead? So, that means the neurology team was right – it was the perfect time to try to shut him down…" Dr. Clarks mused, soft smile stretching across his face. "I can't believe it…"

"Yes, it is remarkable. But, he's not out of the woods yet. Tyler and Angie said his body has undergone significant stress and trauma due to the work they had to do to save him. We've got a team of every specialty imaginable and they are all working on figuring out what our next step is. However, both Tyler and Angie said he was responsive for a short period of time, even opening his eyes for a bit."

"Oh wow…" Leslie said, giggling happily as she wiped the tears from her cheeks. "This is so crazy. It's a miracle – I just can't… I don't know what to say!" she exclaimed, giggling again as a fresh set of tears spilled down her cheeks.

"Again, I will remind you, not a word about this. It may be hard because if we all look so upbeat, that will get people talking and we can't afford a media circus right now – time is critical, and nobody can get in our way. We need to be able to work quickly and efficiently to maximize our odds here, and that's why nobody else can know… I know I'm repeating myself here, but we cannot afford to be interrupted or distracted until we're sure Derek is out of the deep end. Got it?"

"So, basically – you want us to continue acting devastated." Dr. Clarks said, a mischievous smirk on his face as he said it.

"I know it's an odd request, but I'm sure you can understand why I'm asking." Sidney replied. "Then again, unorthodox situations are nothing new to us, by any means."

Leslie smiled.

"In any case, I know it sounds weird, but the best way to do this is just to avoid talking to as many people as possible. That way, there are no slips, and people will be less willing to pry and ask questions. It's been a long few days, so you both are welcome to stay here and rest in any of the rooms available near Derek's – that hallway will continue to be shut down for our use, but there are several rooms open around his. Given your close nature to Derek, I have already confirmed that your patients and shifts are all being covered by other doctors and nurses during this time. But should you choose to or have to return to work before this is over, keep what I've said in mind. It'll be hard, but cooperation in this case is key."

"We've got it – anything we can do to help." Dr. Clarks said.

"I agree. I can be a good actress… it just helps to know that Derek is okay in the meantime!" Leslie chimed in, a wide smile still on her face.

"Okay – glad to see we're on the same page here. I will keep you both posted. Until then, I have to go speak with Derek's mother and Victor. Page me only if it's absolutely necessary, please."

Sidney rose from his chair and headed towards Victor's lab, wishing to give Mrs. Stiles a little more time to rest before waking her.

The chief sighed, pulling his phone from his pocket to try Dr. Hoffman again. He hung up when the phone clicked over to voicemail again, feeling disheartened by the fact that the elder doctor still didn't know the truth. He didn't know that while it wasn't the most popular option at the time, he had made the right choice and it had apparently paid off.

The chief sighed again, adjusting the glasses on his face as he turned the corner to Victor's lab and started towards the double doors.

It was going to be a long day.

-o-

Not counting a quick bathroom break, neither Angie nor Tyler had left Derek's room since they had worked on him. They had both shifted around the room as various professionals spent time poking and prodding at Derek, but now the room was quiet. The doctors had left to go run their tests, leaving the pair alone again.

Tyler's tired eyes were dangerously close to closing for a long time and he knew it. After the hostage situation it was hard for him to get a good night's sleep – trauma and nightmares aside, the thing that bothered Tyler the most about sleeping was knowing that he could miss something related to Derek's condition. During his time in the coma it had gotten easier for Tyler to rest, but now, even after an excruciating amount of physical and mental stress, there was no way he was giving in to sleep.

He scanned the room, eyes landing on the respirator that was supporting Derek once more, even though it was only as a precaution. He looked at Angie and her tired expression as she sat in a chair on the other side of Derek's bed, her eyes only leaving his face when she felt Tyler looking at her.

"You doin' ok?" he asked her with a soft smile.

She returned it. "Yeah, I'm alright… scared, but alright."

Angie stretched her arms above her head with a big yawn. "I just… my body wants sleep so bad, but I'm too afraid to. I feel like I'll miss something."

Tyler chuckled with a nod of his head. "That's so funny, I was just thinking that exact same thing."

There was a brief pause between the two, before Angie spoke up.

"Tyler."

"Hm?"

She sighed, looking him in the eyes. "I just need to let you know how much I appreciate what you did. If you wouldn't have been here, there's no way he would have made it. You have been amazing through this whole process and always there to hold me together, and…" she stopped, a fresh set of tears pooling in her eyes. "…I don't know that I've ever thanked you for that. You have been my source of strength and I don't know what I would do without you, Tyler… Thank you."

Tyler smiled, eyes misty as well. "You don't have to thank me for that. But, I'm happy to do it – Derek is my best friend, and I know it's what he'd want me to do. Besides that, you've been there to help me too… there are a lot of times that I felt like giving up, but watching you never quit has kept me going too."

The surgeon paused, his trademark grin spreading across his face.

"And if it wasn't for both of us being able to use each other today, Derek wouldn't be here. So, that makes us both automatically awesome."

Angie giggled – Tyler did always have a way with words.

"But seriously, Ang. You've become one of my closest friends. When Amy was in a situation like this, you and Derek had my back the whole way. He talked me out of some pretty dark pits – if it wasn't for the two of you, I don't know where we'd be today. And I know without a doubt that if I ever needed either of you for something big or small, you'd be there without a question. That's why you both mean so much to me."

"Of course we'd be there." She replied with a serious tone. "In a heartbeat."

"Exactly." Tyler replied. "And that makes this process easy. At the end of the day, I know the people surrounding me are here because they love Derek. I know you care about him as much as I do… even if it's in a slightly different way." He finished with a smirk.

Angie rolled her eyes, trying to suppress a smile, though she was unsuccessful.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

"Oh come on – you didn't honestly expect that this wasn't going to get brought up again, did you?"

"Leave it alone until the results are back, Tyler."

"Angie, come on – just admit it!" he said with a laugh and a sing-song voice, the nurse trying to hide her smile.

"I've already admitted it before! You've heard it come out of my mouth more than once during this whole process. And I'm not bothering again, because if I get my hopes up and something happens…"

Angie went from trying to suppress a smile to completely stone-faced in a split second, a silent signal to Tyler that it was time to stop prodding.

"Hey…" he whispered gently, though she didn't turn to face him. "We've said it before, but things have changed. This is the first time we've seen Derek responsive in over two months, Angie. We'll wait for the tests to come back, but you'll see – everything is turning around. And before you know it, he'll be awake and walking and talking to us. I have faith, and you should too."

Angie stayed silent, though she nodded with a small smirk. She wanted so badly to believe that Tyler was right, but it was so hard, especially after being jerked around so many times before.

"Besides…" he began, playful smirk spreading across his face. "The quicker he wakes up and gets better, the quicker you two can finally get it over-with and just do it already!"

Unfortunately for Tyler, hand-eye coordination has a propensity to fail under extreme fatigue. And that's why a package of sterile tubing that flew across the room seconds after that comment hit him directly in the forehead.

-o-

He had tried not to, but Sidney Kasal had nodded off at his desk.

Seated in his plush leather chair, Sidney had turned himself toward the window and had his feet propped up on the windowsill, watching the life in Angeles Bay until his eyes unknowingly closed themselves and his body sent him into a dream. It had been hours since they first started testing Derek for everything under the sun, and it was only a matter of time before his pager rang with some results.

And not ten minutes had passed before he was awoken by that beep, causing him to grumble slightly before rushing off towards Derek's room.

-o-

"Alright everyone. I've signed off on all these tests, and now we need some results. Dr. Jones, let's start with you." Sidney said, leaning against Derek's door again with a file folder in his hands, eyes scanning the information in front of him as it was clearly explained by the hospital's top specialists.

"Well, we did a few X-rays and an echo." she began. "Fortunately, there was no apparent stress to the heart or the surrounding structures due to the stress of CPR – everything there looks normal. Blood flow is good, no clots or other obstructions, everything is in fine working order. His heart rate is a bit high, but it's completely within limits considering the recent stress his body has been under – this is normal for all patients in or emerging from a comatose state."

"Thank you, Dr. Jones. Dr. Flynn?"

"Pending his full stabilization, Dr. Stiles will need to undergo many months of therapy to regain muscle strength and tone." the physical therapist stated, looking down at his notes through his glasses. "He will most likely require a wheelchair to travel until this begins, but should be able to perform small movements and should only try anything more under direct supervision and only with necessity. His muscle function is responsive though weak, and his joints are incredibly stiff – his tendons have likely shortened a bit due to disuse, and it will take some time for him to increase flexibility and fluidity, but I expect a favorable outcome."

"I'll go next." Dr. Chu spoke up, looking at his notes as well. "Derek's body temperature and vitals aside from heart rate are normal, however, he has lost nearly 17 pounds over the course of his disability. The most important thing for him when waking up will be restoration of that weight, or else it could affect his heart function. He must be weaned back onto solid foods slowly after his tube is removed, but at the same time, he is in need of protein and carbohydrates and they should be a large part of his diet as soon as he can handle them. His body has undergone visible signs of stress, but that is also normal from being attached to a respirator and a feeding tube. Blood counts are normal, we see no sign of systemic or respiratory infection."

"It states here Doctor, that Dr. Stiles has been placed on a round of Cipro by you as of an hour ago. Why is this?" Sidney asked.

"Well, I wasn't going to announce it out loud, but as is normal with coma patients, Dr. Stiles has developed a moderate urinary tract infection from his catheter. Should clear up in about 7-10 days."

"Ouch." Tyler muttered under his breath, crossing his legs in discomfort for his friend. "That sucks."

"Thank you Dr. Chu, and thank you Dr. Chase for your commentary, as always." Sidney finished, interrupting Tyler without so much as flicking a glance his way, as he was used to by now. A chuckle resounded through the room before Sidney turned his attention to Dr. Yerkes.

"Well, I wish I had such positive news, but mine is more touch and go…" he began, pointing towards the respirator. "Derek and the respirator are working at about a 70/30 share, respectively. His lung function is intact and working well, but is very weak – he requires the respirator until his body strengthens and is able to support him on its own. He is very fortunate to not have any sort of respiratory infection, as Dr. Chu had mentioned, but there is always the risk of pneumonia with patients are weak as Derek. This must always be a controlled environment at all times - all persons with any sort of possible infection must be kept clear, period. In his state, pneumonia could kill him, and would kill him fast. Other than that, I'll be monitoring him daily – I saw no embolisms or anything else that would be cause for alarm, he's just very weak, and understandably so."

All eyes slowly turned to Dr. Rogers, who was holding a massive stack of papers in his hands. He passed them to his left and to Sidney, keeping the top page of notes for himself as he began to talk.

Angie bit her lip, heart beginning to beat faster as she waited for him to begin. She knew that while all the other doctors were a vital part of Derek's recovery, this was the part that mattered – the part that would tell them if he really was going to be okay or not.

"Dr. Rogers?" Sidney asked when the doctor was silent for a few moments, everyone watching him like a hawk.

The neurologist sighed. "Promise you won't fire me."

Sidney's eyes instantly narrowed into slits, ready to breathe fire at the younger doctor at a moment's notice.

"What did you do?" he nearly growled, having a feeling he was not going to like what he was about to hear.

"Well…" Dr. Rogers began, looking down at his notes. "…I just, I have no explanation at all for you as to why Derek is in the state that he's in right now. So, using the fake name, I called to consult with the neurologist Derek and I have both trained under – Dr. Irvine, the cranial nerve surgeon."

Sidney was ready to yell in that moment, but before he could, Dr. Rogers interjected again.

"BEFORE you yell…" he enunciated. "I used the fake name, and if you've ever met Dr. Irvine, you would know that he is not concerned about the world other than what happens to him and his hospital. He had no idea at all – he even told me he hopes I have great luck with treating "Richard"."

Sidney stopped himself and visibly relaxed, motioning for the doctor to continue.

"Currently, we've determined it would be inefficient to use the Glasgow Coma Scale – though we've used some of the response tests from it, and he has responded favorably. He has made unheard of progress since his life support was cut off. And when I say unheard of, I mean we literally have a handful of records of recovery of this magnitude anywhere in history."

Angie sat wide-eyed as Dr. Rogers talked, unable to believe some of the things coming out of his mouth, even as a nurse who was used to dealing with the unexpected.

"To continue – his current state of cognitive function, especially for someone who has been under as long as Derek. He is becoming more responsive to outside stimuli, and we were able to see eye movement and changes in dilation of the pupils, which is a very positive sign."

"Hm…" Dr. Rogers continued, scanning the paperwork in his hands once more. "Well, basically, we did a CT, MRI, and EEG. There are no cerebral hemorrhages, lesions or edema, and hindbrain function came back completely normal. I did a spinal tap, and the cerebrospinal fluid came back perfect. We saw normal neuron function and response with stimuli and without, though he is still having trouble remaining awake and while we've heard very few words spoken, he has yet to speak in phrases or sentences – also, we have yet to see his level of comprehension. Again, all of this is normal for a post-coma patient – Derek has his age and the length of the time spent in a coma on his side… somewhere around four months, the statistics drop to less than 15% chance of recovery, so, it's good he never made it to that mark."

"So, what does this all mean?" Sidney asked. "Put it all together for us, please."

"That's just the thing…" Dr. Rogers started again. "I can't."

Angie and Tyler traded a confused glance amongst the other doctors' murmurs.

"You can't?" Sidney asked.

"Derek is showing the trademark signs of someone who is waking from a coma. But his brain function now – the center of this whole mess – is presenting like nothing ever happened. It's like this whole situation literally never happened – like he was in a deep sleep and refusing to wake up instead of in a coma. Sure, he's having lasting side effects, but every neurological test we've run on him has come back pristine. And for someone so unresponsive, I will admit to you, we didn't expect powering down his respirator to evoke any sort of response in him. He was in such a deep coma, it was a textbook brain death case - except for some reason, he never actually slipped to that stage. It's simply remarkable – we've never seen or experienced anything like this, so it will be hard to say where we're going from here…"

He stopped, a smirk crossing his face with an expression that showed complete surprise at what he was about to say.

"But for all intents and purposes… Derek Stiles is no longer in a comatose state and with proper therapy, should recover just fine."

Silence.

"…wait." Sidney said quietly, holding up his hand as he let it run through his head. "You mean to say that there is no evidence of lasting brain damage – that basically, Derek is just a little 'groggy' and should be back to normal in no time."

"For the most part, yes. As I said before, extensive therapy will be necessary to help him regain his cognitive function, especially his verbal skills – I must stress the importance of that." Dr. Rogers reiterated, arms crossed as he leaned back against the wall.

"What did Dr. Irvine have to say about the matter?" Sidney questioned.

"With the results I gave him as well as a limited history of the events leading to this, there was only one thing that he could come up with – keep in mind when I say this, that this man has got to be within the top five neurologists in the entire world."

"And that is?" Sidney asked.

Dr. Rogers sighed.

"He said it's simply… a miracle."

Angie felt a smile creep across her face and nearly take it over – it lifted the weight of the world off of her heart in that second and was the biggest she could remember smiling in over three months.

It was the best news she could've ever hoped to get – so good, she almost didn't believe it was true.

"I mean, if one of the top neurologists in the world has no explanation for it, then neither do I. I guess the only thing I can say, is that time will tell." Dr. Rogers finished,

Tyler was chuckling out of happiness now, a prick at his tired eyes again.

"Well, we've all seen Derek work – we know he's no stranger to miracles. So, it's about time he got one of his own, huh?" was all the surgeon could think to say, though the whole room nodded in agreement.

"Alright then." Sidney said with a smile, something very uncharacteristic of the tough chief of Caduceus. "All of you – your next step is to take a break, remembering our confidentiality agreement from earlier…" he warned, earning a collective nod from the group. "After that, you are all responsible for putting together a therapy plan for Derek and I want to see and discuss every detail. Are we clear?"

"Yes, Chief." was the resounding reply.

"Thank you all for your hard work – it is much appreciated. You are free to go." Sidney said, pulling the door open for the doctors as they filed out one by one.

Sidney stood with the door open long after the other occupants had left, his eyes on Angie and Tyler who were off in their own little celebratory worlds.

"AHEM." Sidney said loudly, finally snapping both of their attentions to him. "This door is open for you two as well – you need to go sleep, and you need to do it now."

He was met with silence from both Tyler and Angie, who just stared at him incredulously, both of them too sleep deprived to process simple commands.

"Do I look like a door jamb? Move!" he exclaimed, raising his voice.

Tyler slowly rose to his feet with a smile. "Relax, Chief… we'll go in a second. Just give us a moment to kind of, let it all soak in, okay?"

Sidney sighed. "Very well. I have to go talk to Mrs. Stiles, Leslie, and Dr. Clarks anyway. But if I come back down here in twenty minutes and you are still in here, I'm going to do what I do to Victor and deny you access to this room until you are well-rested, healthy, and showered. Got it?"

"Aye-aye, captain." Tyler replied, saluting Sidney with a smirk as the chief just rolled his eyes and walked out.

The door clicked shut behind him and Angie and Tyler just looked at each other elated, the nurse wiping away the tears that had stained her cheeks.

"How do you still have tears left?" Tyler exclaimed with a laugh, walking across the room and handing Angie a tissue from the table by the door.

"I have no idea. I feel like my face is about to start looking like a prune!" she replied with a sniffle and a smile.

"It worked." was all Tyler could say. "I don't know Ang, but someone up there must've heard us, because it worked. We didn't give up – we worked together and saved our best friend… we did it. He's going to be okay."

Instead of replying, Angie stepped forward and threw her arms around Tyler with a happy giggle, not even bothering to wipe away the new tears that were forming.

"Thank you." she whispered to him. "Thank you for sticking with me."

"I told you before – no thanks necessary. But thank YOU for the same" Tyler said with a smile and a rub of the back of his head as they stepped out of their hug.

"I think for the first time in over three months, I'm actually going to have a decent night of sleep. I don't even remember what that feels like." Angie admitted, smiling tiredly as they walked towards the door, Tyler opening it for her to pass through, though she stopped before walking out.

"I'll be out in one minute." she simply stated, Tyler giving her a knowing smirk before closing the door for her.

With a happy sigh, Angie turned around and walked back towards Derek's bed, crawling up onto the side of it and laying next to him for a moment, just to watch him with a smile.

"If I stay here much longer, I'm going to pass out and that would be extremely awkward to explain to everyone…" she said softly, a hand resting on his chest and tracing up and down. Lifting her head, she leaned up towards him and planted a lingering, gentle kiss on his forehead, hesitant to pull away but knowing she should.

Rising to stand at the side of the bed, Angie gave Derek's hand a gentle squeeze and smiled again.

"I'll see you when you wake up – I can't wait." she whispered, before dropping his hand altogether and walking towards the door.

Sleep would be good tonight.

-o-

"Jackie, call me only if it's an absolute emergency. If anyone needs me, I will be out but I'm not sure how long."

"Yes Dr. Kasal." his secretary replied, immediately jotting herself a note to remind her of the message. "Let me know when you return to the hospital."

"Sure thing." he said.

About an hour and a half has passed since Sidney had left Derek's room, and all of the loose ends he needed to tie up were finally taken care of. Keys in hand the chief walked quickly towards the exit, hoping to take care of something that he had been meaning to do all day.

Phone on his ear again, Sidney felt his eyebrow twitch in annoyance as Robert Hoffman's phone once again went to voicemail, quick to end the call instead of bothering to leave a message – he would be over there soon, anyway.

"Dr. Kasal!" Dr. Flynn called, running down the hallway towards the chief before he could manage to get out the door. Sidney sighed to himself but whirled around anyway to catch the physical therapist and see what he needed.

"What is it, Dr. Flynn? I'm on my way out at the moment." Sidney asked, his body fidgeting with impatience.

"We're ready with our therapy plan and we'd like to get started." the younger doctor stated. "I know it might be a bad time, but we need your help."

Sidney could feel his eyes glaze over in annoyance. "What do you need my help with?"

"Well, first, we need you to look it over like you said you wanted to. Obviously we need to get started as soon as possible, and we have multiple options that we would like you to speak with us about."

"Okay…" Sidney said hesitantly, knowing he was about to get pulled in yet another direction.

"Also, I know this breaks the agreement, but we haven't said anything… there is a great orthopedic doctor that we'd like to consult with regarding the physical therapy – Derek has been immobile so long we feel he needs to be examined by a specialist to make sure his bones can take the plan we've put together."

Sidney felt his heart sink, left hand sliding his keys back into his pocket as he followed the physical therapist with a silent sigh. He knew he was the only leadership that the whole hospital had in that moment, but he honestly didn't know how hard it would be to leave for even an hour.

"Okay, Dr. Flynn – I'll make the call. There's just something I need to take care of, first."

"Of course, chief. We'll meet you in the conference room."

Sidney stepped over into the deserted waiting room they had been utilizing, pulling his phone from his pocket again.

If he couldn't be there himself, he knew that someone should.

"…_Hello?"_

"Hey, it's me. Do you have a second?"

"_Yeah..."_ was the disheartened reply. _"How are things holding up there? I'm sure it's been tough."_

Sidney chuckled. "You've got that right – I'm in so many different directions right now I'm about to go crazy."

"_How can I help?"_

"Well, first, I have some news to share…" he started, happiness fading as his thoughts traced to Dr. Hoffman.

"…And then, I need a big favor."

* * *

**Greg Kasal cameo FTW.**

**2 more chapters to go, I think... possibly 3. We'll see.**

**Hope you liked it - see you next time!  
**


	19. Trials

**Wow. Never thought I would actually finish this chapter, but alas, here I am. I can't believe it's been over a year already - I'm so sorry.**

**Life is busy, but I'm not giving up. I'm going to finish at least one major chapter story that I've started, unless I'm spontaneously hit by a meteor tomorrow, and then someone will have to do it for me. **

**Just for knowledge, anyone that's on a ventilator is usually placed on sedation. It gives the body rest, and also stops people from constantly freaking out and trying to rip the tube out. Honestly, most people that are on ventilators are also on restraints, because the tube is the first thing they grab for - and ripping one of those out ain't great for you. So, when I refer to a "trial wean" in this chapter, it is called a "sedation holiday"... once a day, we turn the sedation off for our patients and see how they tolerate being awake and breathing more on their own. If they "fail" the wean, as we sometimes call it, their blood pressure and pulse shoot up, meaning the body is too physiologically stressed to handle the work of breathing on its own. The doctors will usually not pull the tube until the patient can handle it with vitals stable. Usually this is done a few times with less and less work done by the ventilator each time, until they are satisfied with the result. Then, if they decide everything else (nutrition, heart/lung function, muscle strength to breathe, lack of infection, etc.) is in order, they'll discontinue the tube.**

**Just needed to pass that along so that 90% of this chapter makes sense. It doesn't exactly follow what we would do in a given situation, but most of this story hasn't, so sue me - it's my story.**

**Hope you guys enjoy this chapter - so sorry again for the long wait! :)  
**

* * *

"I'm honestly terrible at this."

Dr. Stephen Clarks shook his head with a small chuckle, before his right hand came to rest across his eyes. Seated at a table in the break room with Leslie, the elder doctor was referring to his ability to lie to others, especially because any Caduceus member that walked in and out of the door felt the need to profess their extreme sympathy to the both of them.

"I am too." Leslie admitted back to him now that the break room was finally empty again. "I just keep wanting to smile and laugh and be optimistic again, but I have to look sad all the time and I can't do it. Especially when people ask me how Tyler and Angie are holding up - I hate having to make up stories."

Dr. Clarks nodded, taking a sip of his coffee. "I agree. I guess we can only hope that Derek will be stable enough that they are able to announce his condition sooner rather than later."

He paused, glancing over at Leslie.

"...and if they don't announce it right away, I'm literally going to have to lock myself in my office and avoid everyone altogether."

Leslie giggled, rising to her feet.

"Speaking of, I think it's important I go check on Tyler and Angie - make sure they're taking care of themselves. And you should probably go rest up too, Dr. Clarks."

"I suppose you're right." he replied, finishing his coffee as he rose to his feet and stretched. "This has been the most exhausting day of my life. I'm sure I could sleep for days."

Leslie smiled as she walked from the room, in search of her boyfriend and best friend. No sooner did she step from the door than her pager went off. Looking at the number with a furrowed forehead, she stepped to a house phone in the hallway and dialed back the caller - Sidney Kasal.

"You wanted to see me?"

Leslie poked her head into Derek's room and noticed Sidney at his bedside, standing with a clipboard.

"Yes, Ms. Sears. Please, come in."

Leslie paced in the room hesitantly, looking around as she did so. Nobody was present except for Sidney and Derek, who was still unconscious.

"I'm still working through a lot of things right now…" Sidney began, flipping through a clipboard of papers as Leslie took a seat on the other side of Derek's bed. "We're still trying to work with figuring out Derek's team and treatment plan, and when we should announce what's going on. Which means that as of right now, still nobody knows."

Leslie looked inquisitively at Sidney as he finally met her gaze, having a feeling that she knew where he was going but not completely sure.

"Which also means that as of right now," he continued, tapping his pen against the clipboard, "we have no support staff."

"Uh huh… aand?" Leslie said, trying to get Sidney to get to the point.

"Unless we want to leave Derek here to get better on his own, we need some help. Preferably, some nurses and doctors that already know the situation."

"So, you're asking me to be that staff. Is this what we're getting at?"

"I heard it pays well." Sidney replied, with a barely noticeable smirk.

"Well, in that case, I'll do it." Leslie responded, smiling. "So, what first?"

"Well, it's been a long day. So, you go home and get some sleep, be here tomorrow at 7, and the first thing we're going to do it a trial wean from the ventilator. We'll walk through everything then."

"I'll see you in the morning." Leslie said, rising from her chair and walking from the room. Taking a look at her watch, she took a double-take at the time and date, realizing how much this situation had really thrown everyone for a loop.

And even though she was exhausted, the only thing on her mind was seeing Tyler.

"_I need to make sure he's okay..._" she thought as she exited Caduceus and climbed into her car.

A short car ride later took her to Tyler's apartment instead of her own, as she rationalized that while she needed sleep and lots of it, she needed to be with Tyler more.

Stepping up to his front door, Leslie smiled softly as she knocked on his door, ready to surprise him whenever he answered.

The only problem facing her at the moment, was that he wasn't answering.

"Who am I kidding – a tornado could move through here and he probably wouldn't wake up…" she said, pulling her key to his place out of her purse and using it to make her way into his apartment.

Tyler's apartment was nearly pitch-black, the only source of light trickling through the living room curtains from outside. Leslie gently put down her purse and keys on the kitchen table and slowly navigated her way through the apartment, being careful not to bump into anything. Quietly, she swung the door open to Tyler's bedroom, ready to crawl into bed with him when she noticed another huge problem.

He wasn't there.

Leslie stood in shock for a moment, unsure of where to start in thinking the subject through. A pit formed in her stomach as she began to run through the possibilities, the one sticking out the most the possibility that Tyler had been far too tired to drive home and had gotten in some sort of accident on his way.

Flicking the light switch to his bedroom, Leslie sat down on the edge of Tyler's bed and dialed him with her cell phone, listening for two rings before he finally answered.

_"Hey Les."_ he said tiredly.

"Hey. What's up?" she asked nonchalantly, trying not to blow the surprise in case he was still on his way home.

_"Oh, nothing much. Just crawled into bed... I'm so beat."_

Leslie raised an eyebrow and turned around towards the head of Tyler's bed, noting that she wasn't hallucinating after all - he was definitely not in it.

"Oh?" she asked. "You're in bed already, huh?"

_"Yeah. Like I said, I'm beat. So, uh... where are you?"_

Leslie chuckled in annoyance. "Well, funny story - we seem to have something in common, because I am ALSO in your bed, you lying sack of crap!"

Tyler sighed on the other end. _"You've got to be kidding."_

"I most certainly am not, now where are you, actually?"

Another sigh. _"I'm sorry for lying... but I was trying to surprise you, because I'm actually in your bed waiting for you to get home."_

Leslie couldn't help it as she started to giggle, laughs eventually overtaking her as she laid down on Tyler's bed. "I can't believe this!" she shrieked in between giggles, eventually settling down as the irritated feelings about the situation came to the surface.

_"I know... great minds think alike, I guess. So, I'll see you in a little bit?"_

In the minute that Leslie had been lying down she had already half drifted into sleep, eyes now closed as her eyebrows furrowed.

"Oh no. I just laid down and I'm pretty sure I'm not going to be able to stand up again for quite some time." she mumbled. "Why don't you come here?"

_"Les - are you serious? Do you remember what happened to me in the last 24 hours? There's no way in hell - I'm surprised I'm coherent enough to talk to you right now. My eyes aren't even open."_

"Well mine aren't either..." she muttered quietly.

A brief silence passed between the two as they both thought, Tyler finally coming up with the conclusion that neither of them wanted to admit.

_"We're going to sleep at each other's houses, aren't we?"_

Leslie sighed. "See you in the morning? Don't forget to feed Charlie." she asked, referring to her cat.

_"I won't. I love you - sleep good."_

"Love you too."

It took all the strength she had for Leslie to set an alarm and turn off the light - opting to sleep in her scrubs as the thought of even taking them off was too exhausting.

And as she hit the pillow, her last thoughts were of Tyler before she literally passed out.

-o-

"Alright, Leslie." Sidney began.

It was the morning after Leslie and Tyler's mix-up, and the nurse was now seated next to Sidney in two chairs in Derek's room with the surgeon's plan of care in the chief's hands. "This honestly isn't too different from anything we would do with any of our other vented patients, but because of the trauma and how long Derek has been tubed, we are going to take this a bit slower than we normally would."

"Makes sense." Leslie said, taking the paperwork into her hands and looking it over herself. "So, how many weans are we going to attempt before we d/c the tube?"

"It depends." Sidney began. "Probably four – if it goes better, then less. Worse, maybe more. We are playing everything by ear – which means that even though I usually defer to your judgment about things, if you need to stray from this plan for any reason, you are to notify me and get my approval first. Are we in agreement?"

"Absolutely." Leslie replied, her eyebrows furrowing as she flipped through the chart, which had exponentially grown in size due to the very detailed care instructions. Never had anything been laid out this specifically, and the precision of it as well as the amount of people overseeing her at any time made her extremely nervous to be in charge.

"Are you absolutely sure you are comfortable with taking this on?" Sidney asked her.

Just then, she looked over at Derek and a small smile graced her face. He had been nervous for a lot of things in the past, and for all of those occasions, he never had such specific instructions with which to work.

Simply put, it made her confident that while she was nervous, there was no other way to go. And she was going to do the absolute best job possible – for Derek.

"Not a doubt in my mind." Leslie said with a smile, rising to her feet. "It's about 10:30, and I know they usually like about an hour off of the sedative before they try a wean. So, I'm going to turn off the Propofol drip now, if you'd like to notify the respiratory therapist?" she asked, walking over to the IV pump and pressing buttons until the sedative had been discontinued.

"I will let her know right now." Sidney said, walking towards the door.

"Oh, and Chief?" Leslie asked, prompting Sidney to turn around to face her just before leaving the room.

"Please don't worry about any other support staff. I know that between all of us, we would be more comfortable and happier if we could all help." she said.

Sidney nodded. "That's what I'd like too – and we can keep with this arrangement as long as it makes sense to do so. Thank you for your cooperation, Nurse Sears – it is much appreciated."

And with that, Sidney left the room, and Leslie took a seat at the computer in Derek's room, signing into the Caduceus database to start the massive amount of charting that taking care of Derek was going to entail.

But while she waited for the computer to launch, she plucked her cell phone from her pocket and dialed Angie.

She wasn't going to want to miss this.

-o-

Coming gently back into consciousness, Angie Thompson covered her eyes with the backs of her hands as she adjusted to the bright light trickling in the windows of her bedroom. With a soft sigh she stretched her arms above her head and rolled onto her stomach, pulling her hands down and into her chest as her right eye popped open and tried to focus. As the numbers on her clock finally became clear, both eyes sprang open and she sat bolt upright in bed, hastily shoving the sheets off of her in her panic.

It was 11 a.m., six hours later than she had set her alarm for. She had been forced to go home and get a good night's sleep, but sleeping through the one clock alarm and two phone alarms wasn't in the plan at all.

"I've never slept for 16 hours in my LIFE. Why today?" she muttered under her breath, rushing into the bathroom and all but ripping her makeup bag open.

Angie looked down at her hands as they opened the bag and pulled out her eyeliner, noticing that they were trembling. And the more she relaxed and allowed herself to think about it, she noticed that tremble was not only in her hands, but her whole body.

She had no idea what kind of condition she would be seeing Derek in today or what his therapy team had planned for him, but she realized that any day now, he might be looking her in the eyes. One day soon, he could be awake - able to hear her, able to speak to her, able to touch her.

And although she had been waiting for that day for months, she was still a nervous wreck.

Angie finished putting herself together as quickly as possible, making sure to put extra work in just in case today was the day Derek would get to see her.

"Hopefully he didn't wake up while I was sleeping the friggin day away..." she muttered again, grabbing her purse and a granola bar as she ran out the door and slammed it behind her.

-o-

"Hey you."

Leslie whirled around from Derek's bedside and towards the door, smiling as Tyler walked in the door and walked over to give her a kiss on her cheek.

"Good morning – how was my apartment last night?" she joked, to which he laughed.

"It was pretty awesome – I'm still jealous of how comfortable your bed is." he replied, setting his belongings down in the corner and bringing her a small white bag and a coffee. She took it from his hands with a smile and looked inside the bag to find a blueberry muffin, her favorite.

"You are so thoughtful…" she said with a kiss to his lips, handing the coffee and the muffin back to him. "But, can you put those down over there for a minute? I need to start a new IV – it's time for this one to come out."

"Sure thing." Tyler said, putting the coffee and muffin down next to the computer and sitting in the chair as he watched her work.

"So…" Tyler started nervously, clasping his hands in front of him.

"…so?" Leslie responded, eyes not leaving Derek's arm as she looked for a suitable IV site.

"You love me, right?" he asked.

"Of course I love you, sweetheart. Why do you ask?"

"Because. I was just thinking about some stuff, and I wanted to ask you something."

Leslie shot her glance back at him just for a second as she reached for the tourniquet and tied it around Derek's upper arm.

"And what's that, Ty?" she asked, reaching for an alcohol swab and cleansing the area she had chosen. Next, she uncapped the needle and readied herself to poke Derek, when…

"Will you move in with me?"

Leslie shot a foot in the air at Tyler's question, nearly stabbing Derek in the arm as she did so. Her eyes grew wide and she turned them towards him with wonder and slight exasperation in her eyes.

"What did you just say to me?" she squealed, growing impatient as Tyler just laughed at her reaction.

"Wait." she said, stopping him before he could talk again. "Wait."

Ignoring him for the moment, Leslie turned back towards Derek and inserted the needle into his skin, hitting the vein with perfect precision as she pushed the catheter in and retracted the needle. After securing it properly with tape and attaching a cannula to the end, she tested it for blood return before securing it with a clear barrier to finish it off. Cleaning up her supplies and disposing of them properly, she peeled off her gloves and threw them out before turning to Tyler and resuming their conversation.

"Okay now… what did you just say to me?" she exclaimed with just as much excitement as five minutes ago, to which Tyler just laughed again.

"I mean it." he began, taking her hands in his. "What happened last night was so many kinds of stupid I can't even begin to list them. And we love each other, and spend most of our nights at each other's places anyway… I just think it would make more sense to have all of our stuff in the same place so at the end of the day, I can come home to you and see you whenever I feel like it."

Leslie just smiled warmly back to him, squeezing his hands and preparing to give him an answer just as the door flew open and Sidney walked in. The two immediately split apart at the interruption before she could say a word.

"Oh, Dr. Chase!" he said with an upbeat attitude. "You look much better – are you well rested now?"

Tyler smiled. "I could probably sleep for another week. But I feel much better than yesterday, thank you. That was the first decent night of sleep I've gotten in a long time."

"Glad to hear it." Sidney replied, just as the door opened again and the respiratory therapist walked in, wheeling a portable computer. "Nurse Sears, how are things going so far?"

"He's starting to snap out of the sedation." she responded, stepping away from Tyler as her eyes scanned the computer. "It's been off about forty-five minutes now - he visibly responded to the IV poke and he is beginning to move around a little bit. However, I think it'll be just a little while longer... maybe another ten to fifteen minutes? I know it'll take a bit for Heather to get set up anyway."

"Yeah, you know the drill." Heather responded with a smile as she typed on the computer. She the hospital's most bubbly respiratory therapists and no older than Leslie herself - but also, was extremely knowledgeable and her presence put the nurse at ease.

"I'm going to remain here for the first wean just to monitor." Sidney interjected. "Please, pretend as though I'm not here - I'm not looking to intervene whatso-"

The director's eyebrows furrowed and a hand shot into his pocket as his pager interrupted his train of thought, his eyes rolling in annoyance shortly after.

"Okay, apparently I won't be staying - I've been called elsewhere. Dr. Chase - do you mind?"

"No problem." Tyler responded. "I'll page you if anything comes up."

With a nod, Sidney removed himself from the room. Leslie and Tyler shared a small glance and a smile, both of them dying to return to the moment that had been interrupted but both aware that something more important beckoned their attention.

And as they both heard a noise behind them, it became clear that the certain something was waking up.

-o-

Angie walked as fast as she could without running down the back halls of Caduceus and to the quarantined area they had been keeping Derek in, swiping her badge and growing relieved when it actually let her in. Apparently she had taken good enough care of herself that Sidney didn't feel the need to cut off her access, and that was a giant relief.

Her heart pounded as she paced down the hallway, brushing loose strands of hair from her face and behind her ears. She barely used half the time she normally did to get ready, knowing that she wanted to get back to Derek's bedside as quickly as possible but also try to look as best as possible, knowing she could very possibly meet him face to face today.

It seemed as though it was becoming harder and harder to walk into Derek's room, for the fact that she never knew what was waiting for her on the other side. It was an emotional rollercoaster, one that made the GUILT outbreak feel like something she could've done on a daily basis, at that point.

Her hand pushed the handle and her shoulder shoved weight into the large door, swinging it open. And just like every other time, what waited for her was a complete surprise.

-o-

"This had better be good, Annie. Someone had better be dead, dying, or missing a limb."

Sidney had arrived to greet the author of the emergency page in a very unexpected place.

The lab.

Unless Tyler had infiltrated Victor's workspace, the lab was usually the least of Sidney's troubles as far as Caduceus went. Though for some reason, he was called there in the middle of something extremely important, and it visibly annoyed him.

"Well, nothing of that sort, Chief." Annie said in a shaky voice, arms crossed in front of her. "And truly, I'm so sorry to have bothered you, but I couldn't think of anyone else who could fix this."

"Fix what?" Sidney asked, anger growing into confusion as Annie stepped to the side of the lab entrance and motioned for Sidney to go inside.

The director swiped his badge for clearance and walked inside, haste steps growing ever slower as he paced in and took in the sight in front of him.

The lab had been nearly destroyed.

Broken glass covered the floor and lab benches accompanied by varying stains of the materials that had been in them before they had been thrown. Papers littered every square inch of the lab, belonging to various reports that had been ripped up and spread like confetti. One of the windows to the outside was spider cracked and a metal stool laid on the floor by it, accompanied by several others scattered on the floor. Only the shelf of the most important and expensive equipment had been spared, the rest of the shelves turned over and strewn about like playthings. The normally pristine lab was in shambles, and the only thing that was clear about the situation was that it had been done deliberately.

Sidney stood horrified at the sight, speechless as he scanned the room from left to right. His shoes clicked against the tile as he slowly continued walking, surveying the damage in disbelief.

Suddenly during his scan he came across something that he hadn't seen during first glance, but was undoubtedly the most important piece of the puzzle.

"Victor?"

-o-

"I think it's time to shut it down."

Tyler's words were the first Angie heard as she finally walked into Derek's room, confusing the nurse as she tried to figure out what was going on.

Normally there would be greetings from two of her closest friends, but they both simply acknowledged Angie's presence as they turned their attention back to Derek, Leslie typing a rate for the sedative into the IV pump as Tyler kept his eyes on the monitor.

"What's going on?" Angie asked, her eyes on the monitor as well, which caused her to frown. Derek's heart rate was hanging in the low 120's, his blood pressure readings growing steadily every time they had been taken.

"He's not tolerating the trial wean. We're putting him back on the sedative." Tyler explained to her, his eyes still never leaving the monitor.

"Now?" Angie asked, dropping her things next to the door and pacing over to Derek's bedside, her frown growing as she saw him up close. His eyes were squeezed shut, his body stiff and rigid, his agitation evident in his small movements. His arms struggled against the restraints that had been tied around his wrists, allowing him some movement but preventing him from being able to raise his arms up high enough to get anywhere near the tube down his throat.

Angie sat down on the bed to Derek's right side and reached her hand under the bed, quickly untying the rope to the restraint and removing the soft cuff around his wrist. She held his right hand with her right, her left hand rubbing his forearm to try to settle him down. She leaned forward gently and quietly spoke calming words to him, periodically checking to see if his eyes would open, though they never did. Though he began by squeezing her hand, his strength gradually diminished until the sedation finally kicked in, his hand now lying in hers peacefully. Angie sat up straight and looked at him again, his face now without signs of pain, his eyes closed lightly.

Tyler and Leslie just looked at Angie as she sighed and squeezed Derek's hand one more time, retying the restraint around his wrist and securing it to the bed frame as she stood and turned around.

"I'm sorry, Ang." Leslie said, sensing the disappointment in her friend's eyes. "I tried calling you..."

"Oh, I know." she replied. "It's not your fault - I just... way overslept."

She turned back and looked at Derek again. "I just wanted to see him open his eyes again. He was more awake at the beginning, wasn't he?"

Tyler and Leslie shared a look.

"That's what I thought." Angie replied, figuring it out before they even had to say a word.

"You know," Leslie started. "I'm sure if you talked to Sidney, you could be his nurse tomorrow morning for wean two?"

Angie smiled. "I think I'll give that a shot. I'll be back in a few minutes - I want to go up to our office real quick and check on some things. If you see Sidney, will you tell him I'm looking for him?"

"Sure thing." Tyler said with a smile.

As Angie left the room, Leslie turned and walked towards Tyler with a heavy sigh, collapsing into his chest as her arms wound around his torso. They stood there for a moment in silence before Leslie propped her chin on Tyler's chest and looked up at him.

"What's on your mind?" he asked her, brushing a chunk of hair out of her eyes.

"This is going to be a tiring couple of weeks." she started, lips turning up into a smile. "Especially if I'm going to be moving on top of it."

And in response, Tyler just smiled broadly.

-o-

"Victor?"

The researcher stood in the corner barely noticeable with his back turned to Sidney, body facing the window. His thin, pale arms gripped onto the edge of the counter in front of him, his head dropped in despair. Though the sun shone brightly outside, there was an inexplicable darkness that shrouded the room and the only other man inside it.

"Victor, what's-"

"Don't. Just, don't."

Sidney stopped moving at Victor's words, the harshness of them surprising to him. He waited a few moments for Victor to move and when he didn't, Sidney tried making another move forward. His shoe hit the tile once before there was another sudden outburst from Victor.

"Can you PLEASE just GET OUT?" Victor shouted, still rooted in the same spot as before.

"Victor, I know that this must be hard for you to deal with right now. But, I need for you to let me know what happened to we can figure out who did this and get to the bottom of it!"

"I know who did it." he simply muttered.

"Who?" Sidney sneered, fingers wrapped around the cell phone in his pocket and ready to make a call that was going to destroy said person's life.

Victor was silent, and Sidney lost patience with that very quickly.

"Victor - tell me who's responsible for this!" he said, now nearly shouting due to his frustration at yet another crisis he was in charge of dealing with.

"I am."

Sidney barely heard the words out of his mouth but they instantly got his blood boiling.

"What did you just say? Did you honestly just tell me that YOU did this?"

"That's EXACTLY what I said!" Victor yelled, now whirling around to face Sidney, who was visibly taken aback by the sudden outburst.

The normally straight-faced researcher was now as disheveled as Sidney had ever seen him. Tears stained both of his cheeks and his eyes were bloodshot and tired, though they were fiercely locked with Sidney's. The chief's expression softened only slightly as he took in the sight, understanding that something was seriously wrong but also aware of the fact that the destruction of this amount of property was no way to handle it.

"Start talking."

Victor sniffled once, shaking his head back and forth. "Just fucking fire me."

Patience quickly running out, Sidney began to yell. "Do you understand that I could press CHARGES against you for this? That this isn't just a slap on the wrist, give you a pink slip sort of thing? But because I know you so well, I'm giving you a shot to justify this to me before I have security throw you out of here. I have NO patience for things right now and I feel as though I'm being VERY generous - so quit SCREWING around, open your mouth, and EXPLAIN yourself!"

"I can't DEAL with this anymore!" Victor yelled, grabbing onto the sides of his head with both hands. "At this point, I don't care if you fire me because I'm fucking USELESS in this place!"

Sidney just remained with his arms crossed, staring down Victor as he unloaded.

"I mean, it's so stupid!" he continued, a fresh set of tears pooling in his eyes that he didn't bother to fight. "This was what I was best at - this is the place I would go when EVERYTHING else couldn't seem to go right and now everything I touch turns to SHIT! NOTHING is turning out the way I need it to - every experiment I put my hands on gets destroyed... I haven't come up with anything useful since I came back to work here!"

"Victor..." Sidney tried to interject, unsuccessful as his employee kept going.

" No matter what I'm doing, all I can do is replay that day, over and over and FUCKING over until I go absolutely crazy!" he finally admitted, sinking down until he was seated on the floor. "I mean, it was bad enough knowing that I was right by Cybil as he gunned her down, but going through this whole ordeal with Derek too... I mean, I just can't HANDLE this anymore! I can't fucking do it!"

He sighed deeply, voice dropping out of a yell and into a shakiness barely above a whisper. "The research we've been collecting for months was all invalidated today because of me. Because I made the most stupid mistake - one that I've never made in my entire career. MONTHS of work by myself and everyone on this team just completely went to waste for something we really needed to finish, meaning the FDA is probably going to pull the grant they gave us. And because this is the only place I can go when things go wrong, I have no idea what to do. I can't work properly thinking of everything that's happened, and when I can't work properly, I can't sleep, and when I can't sleep, it doesn't help work get any better."

His tired eyes finally got the courage to meet Sidney's, whose face was emotionless, his arms still crossed in front of him.

"I know I messed up. I have no idea what happened - I just, lost it." he said, looking down at his hands and then back up to Sidney.

"I'm so sorry." he whispered. "You know this place is my life and I never want to leave - but I have no idea how I'm going to keep going like this."

Sidney sighed softly, face still stone. He thought for a minute, weighing his options given the information he now had.

"Stay there." he bit, walking out of the lab and to Annie, who was still outside.

"Here's what we're going to do." he said to her. "I want you to get on the phone and call housekeeping. I want this place disinfected from top to bottom and all of this glass picked up before anyone else goes back in there. After that, try to put everything back as best as you can, and check the inventory against what you have - I want an itemized list on my desk of what is missing or broken by the end of the day so I can replace it. Do you have any questions?"

"No, sir." she replied.

"Good. All of you but one are free to leave after you have finished, and I want you to make it perfectly clear to everyone that this is not to be discussed with ANYONE, or else I will find out who squealed and that person will be immediately fired."

"Yes, sir."

Sidney turned on his heel and went back into the lab, pointing at Victor. "You, get up. Now."

Victor shakily rose to his feet.

"Let's go."

Sidney stormed from the lab and down the hallway, Victor following a few feet behind him as he walked. The researcher looked around in confusion as he followed Sidney up a flight of stairs and into an uncommon hallway, stopping short as Sidney finally pointed towards an open door.

Victor took one look at the name on the door and his eyes grew wide, head shaking.

"Please, no." he pled.

"Get IN. NOW!" Sidney barked, to which Victor dropped his shoulders and walked in, followed closely by the chief who closed the door.

"Sidney? Dr. Niguel?"

Dr. Miller, the hospital's head of psychiatry, looked on confused as the two men hastily walked into his office and shut the door behind them.

"Sit." Sidney barked again, Victor plopping into a chair directly across from Dr. Miller, whose expression turned to concern when he noticed the expression of the usually stone-faced researcher.

"Dr. Miller - do you have any appointments for the rest of the day?" Sidney asked.

"Just one - at 2:00."

"If it is possible, I need you to reschedule it. Dr. Niguel has some SERIOUS issues he needs to work with and they are of an urgent nature, if you are willing to take this on."

Victor sighed in embarrassment, his eyes not leaving the ground.

"Absolutely." Dr. Miller replied, paging his secretary immediately to take care of the request.

"Great. And YOU," he started, attention turned to Victor now. "You are not to leave this room until you have some sort of MAJOR breakthrough - I don't care if you're here until next MONTH! I will be in touch with Dr. Miller regarding you and when he can tell me that you have made real progress, we will discuss your situation further. Am I clear?"

"Yes, Chief." Victor answered softly.

"Great. Now, to start, how about you tell Dr. Miller what brought you here?" he said with an edge of irritation, closing the door fiercely behind him.

The quiet in the hallway stung at Sidney's ears as he dropped back against the wall on the opposite side and closed his eyes.

He sighed.

_"I'm going to lose my goddamn mind."_

-o-

The following morning, Angie stood patient next to Derek's bed, eyes intermittently between him and the monitor as the sedation gradually wore off. Angie and the respiratory therapist were the only two people in the room, and then it just became Angie as the RT excused herself for a quick bathroom break.

Angie turned her back to Derek momentarily and started typing in his chart, documenting the wean in excruciating detail as she had been instructed. As she finished typing in the introductory details and turned around, Angie stopped short with a small gasp upon sight of Derek.

He was looking at her.

Angie smiled softly and moved to stand at the side of the bed, his eyes following her though they were groggy and tired.

"Hey you." she said with a smile. "Good morning."

Derek just blinked slowly, his eyes still locked with hers as she sat down next to him.

"You've got to try hard today, alright? You're awake because we're turning off the sedation to see how you do breathing more on your own. We want this tube out of you soon, so try your best, okay?"

Derek indicated his understanding with a barely noticeable nod, wincing shortly after.

Angie furrowed her forehead at the wince and looked up at the monitor, noticing that Derek's pulse was on the rise again, as was the speed of his breathing.

"I know it's tough, Derek, but try to concentrate and relax. It's been a long time since you've had to breathe on your own but you can do it... just remember to relax and don't fight the ventilator, okay?"

Beads of sweat were quickly gathering on Derek's forehead, and as Angie rose to her feet the respiratory therapist walked back into the room closely followed by Tyler.

"How's it going?" Tyler asked, checking Derek and the monitors himself. He smiled when he saw Derek's eyes open, waving to him.

"His pulse isn't as high as yesterday, but he's struggling a little bit. He's understanding me better, so I'm just trying to get him to relax." she said, moving back towards his bedside. Her hands unfurled a cool washcloth that she had dampened and placed it on his forehead, holding it there gently as she watched him relax just slightly.

"Yeah, looks like he's tolerating it a little better than yesterday, but not as well as I'd like. How long has he been off?" Tyler asked.

"We're approaching an hour and a half." said Angie.

"Alright. It's starting to climb again - restart the sedative, please."

Angie bit back a disappointed sigh and moved to the IV pump, restarting his Propofol drip. Slowly, they watched him fade back into unconsciousness, his eyes closing first, followed by the relaxation of the rest of his body.

"He's doing well - it's going to take a few more times though... we just have to be patient." Tyler said, typing notes in Derek's chart as Angie did the same on her own computer.

Angie nodded, still disappointed.

Patience wasn't something she had much of anymore.

-o-

Sidney was now back in his office, forehead resting on his desk as he concentrated on slow breathing. He was getting incredibly exhausted being in charge of everything that was happening - it seemed as though his staff was all falling apart by the moment, and that every problem was only being capable of handled by him and him alone.

And it was causing him to fall apart, also.

_"I don't understand how Robert does this every day."_

"Robert."

Sidney picked his head up quickly at that train of thought, reaching for the phone on his desk and quickly dialing Dr. Hoffman's cell phone. It went directly to voicemail as it had on the last day that Sidney had seen him. Since he had been at Caduceus around the clock tending to Derek and the other staff, he had regrettably been unable to leave to check on the elder doctor, who he knew had taken the situation very hard.

Remembering that he had sent Greg to check on him, Sidney picked his cell phone out of his pocket and flipped it open, dialing his twin.

He let out a disappointed sigh as four rings came and went, sending his call to voicemail.

"Greg – it's me." he started, leaning back in his chair. "I'm so sorry I'm just getting back to you – everything is falling apart here. I just wanted to see if you were able to go visit Robert... I wanted to know how he's doing."

Sidney paused, at a loss for anything else to say. It was mostly because he was too tired to talk about anything else, and partially because if he started, there wouldn't be enough room on Greg's voicemail to hold everything he had to say.

"If you could stop by later and somehow help me put this place back together, it'd be much appreciated. Call me back."

Sidney ended the call and took a deep breath, closing his eyes. This was just another loose end that needed tying up, and Sidney alone was the one holding all the strings.

"Guess it's time to make another lap..." he muttered to himself, ripping open a granola bar that had been on his desk and biting off a chunk before leaving his office to check on the state of things.

And just as he opened the door to walk out, he was surprised to be face to face with someone unexpected.

-o-

Later that night, Derek's mother, Angie, Leslie, and Tyler all sat in Derek's room together as Angie gave Leslie a report of Derek's progress that day. The elder nurse was ready to take over Derek's care for the night, and scribbled notes onto her clipboard as Angie talked.

"The Propofol and fluids need to be changed at midnight... aand, I think that's about it. Did I miss anything?" Angie asked, turning her attention to Leslie.

"Nope… Flawless as always." Leslie said with a smile, referring to the fact that Angie's reports never missed even the tiniest detail.

"Can I ask something?" Mrs. Stiles asked from her son's bedside, her hand holding his since the time she sat down next to him.

"Absolutely!" Leslie chirped with a smile.

"If you don't mind me asking, what's the plan for tomorrow? Do you think he's doing well enough that one of these days, you could take out his breathing tube?" she asked, eyes hopeful and shining as she stroked her son's hand gently.

Angie and Leslie both looked at Tyler, who thought carefully for a minute before answering.

"It really depends, Mrs. Stiles." He started, crossing his arms and leaning back against the wall. "Every day he's getting better and better, but even this last time his blood pressure and pulse are showing he's too stressed to function without the ventilator. So, hypothetically, if tomorrow that were to change and he could tolerate the wean without those changes, then yes – we could pull his tube. However, we are being very careful to make sure of that decision before we pull the tube because its stress his body doesn't need should we need to re-intubate him. We're going to make sure he's as strong as possible before pulling it – unfortunately, that may or may not mean being a little patient right now for a better result later." He explained, waiting for a response from any of the women in the room to see if that would be an acceptable enough answer.

"I understand." Mrs. Stiles replied gently. "And I know taking it easy is what's best… but it's been so long already that I just want him to be back to my normal Derek."

"We can all certainly understand how you feel in that regard." Tyler said with a smile. "It's incredibly frustrating – but given how close we've come to losing him so many times, we're making sure not to do anything to jeopardize his progress."

Mrs. Stiles nodded again with a smile, glancing at Leslie and Angie before looking back to Derek. "I guess he'll just have to get a good night's sleep so he's nice and strong tomorrow."

The statement tripped something in Tyler's mind, prompting him to turn towards Leslie and Angie.

"Well then why don't we make sure he does." Tyler started, moving towards the computer. "I know he's already receiving a sedative, but I'm going to write for some morphine – I want you to dose him with four milligrams every four hours through the night. Make sure the last dose is no later than 5 am – I want at least three hours for it to wear off before we start the wean. Also, draw all blood from his labs from his central line – don't do anything that would wake him up, even for a minute. That way, we can make sure he gets completely uninterrupted sleep tonight – and hopefully, he'll be strong enough tomorrow for the wean to go better. Does that work for you guys?" he asked, mainly talking to Angie and Leslie but casting a glance towards Mrs. Stiles as well.

"I think it's a great idea." Angie said, Leslie nodding along with her.

"I'll try to do as much as I can not to bother him tonight." Leslie said with a smile.

Gradually, everyone said their goodbyes and trickled out of Derek's room, Leslie the only one left with him. She walked to his bedside and gazed at him as she gave him his first dose of morphine, sighing as she sat at his bedside.

"Come on Derek – we want to see you tomorrow, okay?"

She paused for a moment and took in the stale silence before getting up and walking to the computer to start charting.

It was going to be a long night.

-o-

Sidney stood in the doorway to his office, forehead furrowed at the sight in front of him.

"Can I come in?"

Greg Kasal asked the question of his twin brother with a hesitance and shaking to his voice that Sidney had only heard a few times in the many years they had been alive. He stood eye to eye with his brother, trying to read him though he couldn't quite put together what was going on.

"Of course – but, I only have a few minutes..." Sidney started, turning his back to Greg for a moment as he walked to the trash can and threw his granola bar wrapper away.

"Sidney."

A chill swept through the younger Kasal at his brother's tone, the severity of it very evident in just two syllables. He turned around slowly to see that Greg had seated himself on the small couch in the office, a small white piece of paper in his hands and tears in his eyes.

"Greg – what's wrong?" Sidney said, slowly moving to stand in front of his brother, his heart beginning to beat faster and faster by the moment. "What is that?"

Greg just lowered his head, taking slow, staggering breaths as he tried to find the words to say. After a stale silence between them he realized there were none, and instead extended a shaky hand out to Sidney that held the small paper.

Sidney hesitated for a moment. Whatever was being offered to him had obviously shaken his brother severely – was it something he really wanted to know?

Curiosity getting the best of him, Sidney took the note and slowly unfurled it, recognizing the immaculate scrawling penmanship instantly.

And just as quickly, he felt like throwing up.

-o-

Angie and Tyler stood in Derek's room at approximately eight the next morning, staring at the peacefully sleeping doctor as they again waited for his sedative to wear off.

"I prayed all last night for him." Angie said in a whisper, seeing Tyler nod gently out of the corner of his eye.

"Me too – I think we all did. Leslie said he looked as peaceful as she's seen him since this started last night, so hopefully he built up some much needed strength." He replied.

Angie and Tyler continued talking until a motion in front of them pulled them from their conversation and back to Derek, who was struggling to wake up.

Angie sat down in the chair next to his bed with his chart in her lap, one hand grabbing for his and the other hand scribbling notes to herself that she would be required to chart later.

Not more than a few minutes later, Derek slowly blinked open his eyes. He started his consciousness looking directly at the ceiling, slowly adjusting to things around him until he began to look around with the apparent goal of finding a familiar face. His eyes settled on Tyler first, who as always, smiled, waved, and said something dorky to him. He then dropped his head slowly to his left to see Angie, who smiled as well and squeezed his hand gently.

"Just keep relaxed, okay Derek?" Angie said, putting the chart on the chair and moving to instead sit on the side of his bed. "We're hoping this will be the last wean attempt – we want to get that tube out of you so we can get you back to normal, alright?"

Derek nodded once at her comment and gently squeezed her hand, wincing shortly after. Angie's eyes immediately flipped to his monitor, surprised to see that his heart rate and blood pressure were currently under control.

"You seeing this?" she asked, turning around to face Tyler who had a small smile on his face.

"I am." He said. "Don't get too excited yet – let's keep watching, alright?"

Derek continued to wince every so often, though every time Angie looked up at the monitor, nothing had changed – his heart rate was in the high 90's, but since the accident, that had been his baseline unless heavily sedated.

"You're doing so great, Derek." Angie said in a hushed voice, bending over him and gently wiping his forehead with a wet washcloth she had prepared. "You're got this – just keep it up, alright? Remember to relax, and don't fight your ventilator. Pretend it's not even there."

Derek's expression at the comment made Angie laugh, as he gave her a weak look as if to say, "How am I not supposed to pay attention to these massive tubes down my throat?"

Derek winced again, his vitals unchanging.

"Derek, are you in pain right now?" Angie suddenly asked him, turning to Tyler for an answer as Derek nodded his head.

Tyler stood for a moment, thinking. "Well, it's not like it's not normal… but I'm hesitant to give him anything because I don't want to make him more tired…"

"I know that's the last thing we want, but what about a small dose of morphine or something equivalent – something that won't knock him out, but will take away his pain so he can focus more?" Angie asked.

"I can get on board with that." Tyler said, walking to the medication supply. "He does most likely have a pretty high tolerance from how many opioids he's had lately…"

"Exactly." Angie said, looking at the clock. It had been 45 minutes since the sedative had been turned off, and already Derek was doing much better than any of the previous attempts they had tried.

"Alright." Tyler said, unscrewing the syringe from Derek's IV after he had administered medication to him. "Let's give that a few minutes to kick in, and hopefully that'll help."

Angie turned her attention back to Derek, who was looking straight up at the ceiling again.

"Derek?" she asked, the doctor slowly turning his attention down and towards her.

"I know it's hard, but let's think about something else." She said, racking her brain. "Let's pretend that you're not here right now – let's pretend, you're back in surgery with me."

Derek remained looking at her as her thumb traced over the back of his hand, trying her best to keep him focused and relaxed.

"I know how much you love your work – do you remember being a surgeon?"

Derek nodded gently, face expressionless.

Angie smiled. "I can't wait to work with you again. We're a pretty good team, you and I. But it's all because of you – you're an amazing surgeon… you continually impress me more and more every day we work together. You've taught me so much, and I've become a better nurse for having been your partner. I miss that – I can't wait for you to be back to your normal self again… I can't wait to get ready for surgery with you. Especially when I have to go and find you because you're late."

Angie giggled as Derek's eyebrows furrowed at her in feigned anger, continuing to talk to him instead of poking more fun. She drew upon their memories together, all the stories of their best times – whether they were at work or otherwise. She had them all readily available in her mind, as she was forced to think about them on a daily basis to keep herself positive about Derek's condition. He stayed focused on her as she talked, showing mild emotion from behind his tube as he listened, the two of them in their own little world as Tyler stood nearby, monitoring his best friend silently.

"Angie?" Tyler suddenly said, pulling her from one of her stories. She turned her head towards him to notice he was smiling, pointing at Derek's monitor. She evaluated it herself, noticing that it had not budged from where it had been when they started – Derek had remained perfectly relaxed, and was doing the work of his breathing instead of the tube. They had been gradually decreasing the ventilator's settings over the past few days, but today was the first time he was finally doing all of the work on his own without too much stress on his body.

"How long has it been?" Angie asked.

Tyler grinned. "It's been over two hours."

Angie smiled broadly and turned her attention towards Derek. "See, Derek? I told you my incessant talking would come in handy someday… look how fast the time flew!" she joked with a giggle, earning a squeeze of her hand from Derek.

"What do you think, Tyler? Is this it?" she asked, hopeful for his response.

Tyler stayed silent, thinking generously about the situation.

"Think out loud, please." Angie immediately said, to which Tyler rolled his eyes and laughed.

"Well, he's spontaneously breathing on his own without distress. Heart has no defects, lungs are clear and without infection, he's awake and alert, therapy has been working with him to get his muscle strength up to help him breathe… bloodwork is still not ideal, but suitable, nutrition is great..."

He trailed off, staring at Angie silently with an expression that asked her if he was forgetting anything. She raised an expectant eyebrow at him as if to say that he wasn't, and before he knew it, Tyler was smiling from ear to ear.

He moved to the side of Derek's bed and put a hand on his shoulder, prompting Derek to turn his head towards him.

"Hey buddy, I need you to listen to me carefully. We're going to take that tube out of you, okay?"

Angie smiled broadly, standing and grabbing the suction equipment. Derek fought her mildly as she suctioned his airway, protecting him from choking on secretions while they removed the tube.

"Alright, Derek – I know you know how this goes, but I'm going to explain it anyway. The biggest transition here is from the positive pressure of the ventilator to the negative pressure of your lungs. So, it's probably going to feel uncomfortable for a bit – just focus on your breathing, slow breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth."

Tyler started turning off the machinery attached to the ventilator as he talked. "You know we'll have to keep you coughing and deep breathing for awhile, because we need to make sure you can protect your airway and not aspirate. If not, we may have to talk about a tracheostomy, because we'd rather you not choke on your own phlegm, alright?"

Angie giggled as Derek nodded in understanding. She stood by the other side of his bed with the necessary emergency respiratory equipment, just in case it was needed.

"Alright, everything's ready to go here." Tyler said. "I know it's better to have you more sedated when we remove this… do you want me to do that instead?"

Derek shook his head no.

"Good enough for me!" Tyler said, one hand on Derek's chest and the other on the tube. "On the count of three Derek, you're going to take a big deep breath in, and I want you to huff cough as deep as you can while I pull this thing out, alright?"

"Ready Angie?" Tyler said, Angie nodding, ready as ever.

"Alright Derek – one, two, three!"

On the count of three, Derek took a deep breath in as instructed and huffed out audibly, Tyler pulling the tube out flawlessly as he did. Derek immediately began to gasp a little, his cough dry as he tried to catch his breath. Angie immediately put oxygen tubing in his nose, her stethoscope in her ears and listening to various places on Derek's chest.

"He sounds clear all the way through." She said, Tyler checking behind her to confirm. Angie grabbed a mask with some humidified oxygen and placed it close to Derek's mouth, instructing him to breathe in the way Tyler had told him before. A short time passed and he began to breathe more evenly, still coughing every so often, though he didn't look as though he was struggling as much. Both Angie and Tyler consistently encouraged him through it, the former frequently reminding him of how to breathe and trying her best to relax him, while the latter monitored him closely for any red flags.

Time passed and eventually Derek felt silent, breaths full though shaky at times, unlabored and regular. Tyler listened to his lungs again, a smile on his face as he looked at Angie.

"Everything looks great to me." He said, both of them turning to look at Derek.

"Derek… how do you feel?" Angie asked him, only getting a nod of his head in response.

She smiled at him, both of her hands enclosing his left one as she again sat down on his bed next to him. He turned his head towards her and Tyler reached over, gently sliding his glasses onto his face. He blinked a few times as he adjusted to the sight of her, and Angie watched as the corner of his lips turned up into a barely noticeable smile.

She immediately began to tear up, smile as broad as could be as she squeezed onto his hands again.

"Hi, Derek… welcome back." She started. "Can you say something for me?"

Derek coughed again, took in a deep breath and relaxed.

"Hi." Derek said, in a raspy whisper of a voice, turning his head from Angie to Tyler, focusing on them both fully for the first time in months.

Just the sound of his own voice made Derek smile in accomplishment. Tyler laughed with tears in his eyes and Angie was fully crying now, her hands stroking his gently as she smiled. Derek turned his gaze back to the nurse and squeezed her hands tightly,

"How do you feel, man?" Tyler loudly exclaimed in excitement, slightly startling his best friend.

Derek smiled softly.

"Tired." He whispered.

-o-

Sidney's eyes instantly scanned the letter top to bottom, taking a deep breath as he started at the beginning, actually taking in the words in front of him.

"_Sidney – _

_It is with a heavy heart I write this letter to you, knowing that over the years and the loss of many people close to me, you and your brother Greg are the last people I would truly regard as my family._

_These last few weeks have destroyed me. I no longer hold myself or my accomplishments in the regard I used to, as I will never be seen as anything other than a murderer. Because of my selfish actions, I trusted medicine instead of my conscience and now one of the most brilliant young men I've ever known has lost his life. It's something I truly don't think I'll ever be able to recover from… I've had many mistakes in my life, but none with such a magnitude as this. _

_In spite of my love of medicine and my promise to Richard, it is with great sadness and a heavy heart that I will be removing myself from the field of medicine and my post at Caduceus, effective immediately."_

Sidney's heart dropped into his stomach, a prick at his eyes as he tried to make himself understand what he was reading.

"_Since the day I became a doctor I have loved my work – nothing has brought me more joy and happiness than how I chose to spend my life. However, continuing on is impossible, as my last decision as a doctor is one that has darkened all of the good memories that I still possessed. _

_I am addressing this to you because as of this moment, you are now the Director of Caduceus and all of its subsidiaries. There is nobody that I trust as much as you, as you carry the same vision and heart for the hospital as I once did. However, I am now unfit to continue on, given the circumstances. I am not doing this to hurt anyone, especially you, but it is a personal burden that I cannot bear – I will never be stepping foot into Caduceus again… it is no longer the haven to me that it once was._

_Good luck to you in this new endeavor. You will be as wonderful as you always have, and I know the hospital will flourish under your leadership, as it has when you worked alongside me._

_If I could ask one favor of you, if I deserve one, please keep Richard's memory and vision in mind as you lead Caduceus into the future – it the one promise I swore I would never break, and I'm passing onto the person I know will hold it in as high of regard as I have._

_Regretfully,_

_Robert"_

Sidney finished the letter, not noticing how much his breathing and heart rate had increased while reading. He had broken out into a sweat, panicked as he digested the words in front of him. It had been tough to hold it together the past few days, but the ray of light at the end of the tunnel was knowing that the firm and steady leadership of Dr. Robert Hoffman would soon he at his side again, once he had recovered.

A chill swept through his body as he fought back a set of tears.

He was the sole person responsible for this mess now. Nobody was coming to help, to bail him out – he and he alone had to put the struggling institution and its members back together, while trying to deal with the sudden retirement of one of his most beloved friends and mentors.

Sidney turned his eyes up to Greg in a panic, noticing that his twin was also fighting back tears. They both owed their careers and their knowledge of medicine to the author of that letter, and suddenly, he had seemingly removed himself from both of their lives for good.

"G-Greg…" Sidney started, a noticeable crack in his voice. "Did he say where he was going? We have to tell him about Derek… he has to know!"

Greg stayed silent, tears building as he watched his brother unravel at the situation.

Sidney dropped the hand with the letter to his side, the other one raising up and holding onto the side of his head. "I-I mean, we have to track him down… I can't POSSIBLY run this place without him! I've barely been holding everything together and it's only been half a fucking week!"

"I know, Sid." Greg started, cut off quickly.

"But you DON'T!" he exclaimed. "Nobody does – nobody understands the weight of this place like Robert, and in the current state the hospital and its employees are in, I was just treading water until he could come and make everything alright again! What the FUCK am I supposed to do now?"

Sidney suddenly shifted from hopeless to determined, tossing the note onto his desk and walking around to the back of it to grab his belongings.

"Sidney, what are you doing?" Greg asked, rising to his feet defensively.

"You know I don't ask you for much, but I need you to stay here and hold down the fort for me."

Greg reeled, panicked at the mention, especially because he knew what a daunting task it was.

"I'm going to find him." Sidney said, throwing on his jacket and tossing his keys and wallet in his pocket. "I have to find him and tell him what's happened – it would change his mind and his outlook to know that his actions actually saved Derek instead of killing him! He would be back here in a heartbeat – he wouldn't leave Caduceus if he knew!"

"Sidney, stop!" Greg exclaimed, his brother stopping short of the door and turning over his shoulder to look at his twin.

"Greg, I won't be gone long – if you have any questions, just call me."

"It's not that!" he said, Sidney turning more concerned as he saw tears well up in Greg's eyes again.

"Sidney, you're not going to find him." He said, shaky as ever.

Sidney turned around to fully face Greg, a questioning expression on his face as Greg began to fully cry.

"Why?" Sidney asked, nausea sweeping through him as his brother locked devastated eyes with his and said words he had never in his life thought he would hear.

"B-Because-" Greg started, choking out his words in between tears.

"…because Robert's d-dead, Sidney."

* * *

**I don't know how many chapters are left at this point, but the next one will definitely be addressing, uh... that. **

**Hope you liked it, at least.  
**


	20. Setback

**Nope, you're not seeing things. I swear to God I will finish this if it kills me.**

**Hi guys! (exuberant arm waving) How is everyone?**

**It is my life goal to finish this story and "How Strong"... I miss the TC fandom, and if I am not totally burned out after finishing those stories, I'd like to jump back in here :)**

**I know it's been forever, so maybe jump back and skim the previous chapter before reading this one to remember the timeline. It had been so long that I had to read the last 3 chapters about three times each to remember where the hell I left off. I suck.**

**Alright - I hope you enjoy this... I'm going to stop guessing how many chapters are left because I'm very wrong every time.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"B-Because-" Greg started, choking out his words in between tears.

"…because Robert's d-dead, Sidney."

Sidney scoffed once, then a second time, no actual words escaping him at the revelation.

"I'm sorry," he started, laughing out loud once more as he put his right hand to his forehead, his left settling on his hip. He abandoned this pose briefly after striking it, dropping both hands dejectedly to his sides as the nauseous feeling overtook him once more. "I swear I could've just sworn you said Robert was d-d…"

He couldn't even bring the word to the tip of his tongue. There was no way he could say it out loud – because then it wouldn't be a joke any longer. If it was true, Sidney was REALLY on his own, by himself to put back together the hellish nightmare that had become of the place he once _loved_ to come to every day. If Greg was right, not only would he have a professional challenge to contend with, he would also have no backup as he grieved the loss of his superior, his friend, and one of the men he admired most in the world.

"There is nothing more I need in the world right now than for you to be joking." Sidney said flatly, unable to bring his eyes up to meet his twin.

He couldn't do it. He couldn't find any sort of affirmation of the one piece of news he knew would break him. Not since his wife had passed had he experienced such a continuous, unrelenting grief that followed him to the ends of the earth – and this…

This was quickly poised to overtake the title as the most destroyed he had ever felt as a human being.

Still refusing to make eye contact with Greg, Sidney closed his eyes as he heard his brother sniffle to his right. It was the answer he neither wanted nor especially needed, but he began to understand quickly that it was no joke – the Kasal men were not emotional, and for Greg to be crying in that moment…

"Please, Greg. Please be kidding."

All Sidney saw of his brother was out of his peripheral vision – a soft shake of his head and the words he was most afraid of:

"…he killed himself."

A very brief moment of silence shrouded the words as they left Greg's mouth, the elder Kasal knowing that it was likely as hard to speak them as it was to hear. But now that they were out…

"Oh GOD!"

Sidney's cry of anguish accompanied the loss of strength he had left, buckling his knees and sending him straight to the floor. Crumpled in on himself, the director laid his head down on the floor, crying generously as Greg rushed to sit by his side. Sidney blocked him out, weakly pushing him away instead of allowing the consolation he knew he needed.

Those words – that news, meant that the blame rested with him. Suicide meant that Robert had felt like so much of a failure as a person that he couldn't stand to live life anymore, that he felt nobody cared for his presence on Earth for another day. It meant that even though Sidney had problem after problem to deal with at work, he had failed to reach his friend in time to save him - that he had ended his life believing only lies, and without getting to hear the miraculous recovery made shortly after what had ultimately been a right decision.

It meant that the hopes Sidney had of changing Robert's mind on stepping down at Caduceus were now permanently dashed – he had no mentor, no answers for his questions, no united front, nothing.

He was all alone.

The newly minted Director of Caduceus could swear the walls were closing in on him – every passing second felt as though his rib cage would squeeze the life out of his heart and lungs, breaths more desperate and chest on fire as he struggled not to choke. Even breathing – the simplest of life tasks for him – seemed impossible in the moment. There wasn't enough air in the world to help him, and as he pushed Greg away and yanked furiously at his tie and shirt collar to try to find relief, he was taken away from the task as he felt rising in his chest. With little time to react, Sidney could only manage to turn his head away from his brother before he vomited all over the carpet to his office, torso heaving in between cries. What little meal he had eaten that day was now spilling out in front of him, body seemingly rejecting the idea of yet another devastating blow in such a short amount of time.

And seated next to him, Greg could only watch, knowing the feeling all too well. It had hit him just like he was watching it tear through Sidney, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. It was true – the moment he had received the news himself was among the worst moments of his life, only beaten by the revelation that he had lost the woman he intended to spend his life with. The span of two months had not been kind to the doctors and nurses of Hope and Caduceus - as soon as they passed one hurdle in the journey to finally healing, they all seemed hit the proverbial concrete wall with full force. The group was used to holding it together in the most dire of situations, but as this tragedy had all taught them, they were first and foremost, still human.

And unfortunately, human emotions have to give out at some point.

Sidney began to settle down after his nausea finally bested him, still slightly struggling to breathe. Closing his eyes gently with the hope that it would bring comfort, he was rudely interrupted by a stream of thoughts and mental images of Robert, beginning the instant his eyelids touched. Initially memories of the two of them, a dark spiral began overtaking the nostalgia, and before long Sidney found himself with graphic mental images of the final moments of his friend's life. How had he done it? Would he ever want to know? Who had found him? Was it quick, or did he suffer?

Shooting his eyes open to attempt to quell his racing thoughts, Sidney slumped over exhausted by the mental barrage until his shoulder hit into the side of his desk for support, a big shaky breath escaping him before he finally managed to look up at Greg. Greg timidly gazed at his younger brother, resolving internally not to make a sound until Sidney spoke – he knew just from talking to him in the past few weeks what consequence this news would have, but he wasn't yet sure how Sidney was going to deal with it.

And apparently, neither did Sidney.

The younger twin just stared on at Greg as dejectedly as he had ever seen him, life seeming to bleed from his eyes with every moment that escaped the two of them. A million new thoughts raced through his mind – guilt and absolute emotional overload at the forefront – but there was only one thought clear enough for him to bring out into the open.

"Greg," he started, sniffling.

"…what am I supposed to do, now?"

-o-

Angie remained seated on Derek's bed to his left, hands still enclosing his tightly. She was the type to let this little show of affection get her all uncomfortable and worked up when they were partners, never wanting to seem unprofessional or let someone understand her true feelings. But now that he was awake and looking at her, the Jaws of Life couldn't have pried her grip from him – if he wanted his hand back, it was just too damn bad.

"How do you feel, man?" Tyler loudly exclaimed in excitement, slightly startling his best friend.

Derek smiled softly.

"Tired." He whispered.

Tyler smiled at Derek's answer to his question, laughing slightly as his hands dropped into his pockets.

"You better not be tired – you've been having a one-man slumber party for awhile now, and you didn't even bother to invite any of us!"

Derek smirked slightly at his friend's response, leaning his head back and closing his eyes briefly before popping them open again.

"I know this is going to seem like a daunting task at the moment, but we need to talk to you for just a little bit." Tyler said, pulling a rolling stool out from the other side of the room and next to Derek's bed, where he plopped down onto it and started to slightly spin back and forth. "I need to check you out and see how you're doing, since this is the first time we've had you awake in a little while. If you feel too tired we can stop, but I have to see how much we can get through, okay?"

"Yes, I know my name." Derek said without hesitation, Angie letting out a giggle at his response. Finally allowing herself to release Derek's hand, she reached for something to write on and a free piece of paper, ready to scribble notes to herself that would allow her to chart later.

"Alright, so you blew my first question!" Tyler exclaimed with a smile. "Why don't you tell me what it is?"

Derek sighed softly. "Derek Stiles."

"Good!" Tyler said, rising to the side of Derek's bed and retrieving a penlight from his shirt pocket.

"Look straight forward." The blonde instructed him gently, shining a small light into Derek's eyes as he did so. He took it back after a moment, moving it closer to Derek's eyes and further away, watching the response.

"Where are we right now, Derek?"

"The hospital. Caduceus." He said softly.

"Awesome." Tyler replied. "Pupils equal, round, and reactive to light. 4mm each, corneal reflex positive, reactive to accommodation."

Angie wrote his words down on her paper, smiling at the normal result as she did so.

Derek then stuck out his tongue, raised his eyebrows, squeezed both of Tyler's hands as tightly as he could manager, shrugged his shoulders, turned his head back and forth against the opposing pressure of Tyler's hands, and a few other small tasks until he stopped participating and looked up at his best friend.

"Is this really necessary?" Derek asked. "I'm okay, I promise."

Tyler scowled, and before he could say a word, Angie had already started to berate Derek first.

"You sound just like our patients!" she exclaimed with a fake harshness to her voice, Derek shrinking back at her tone before she started to laugh. "You would always get upset when people would ask you that, because if you know as much as you think you do, you know how important it is to neurologically screen the patient who had just undergone mental status changes, right, Doctor?"

Derek smiled sheepishly at Angie's explanation, reaching up to scratch the side of his head gently. The nurse felt her heart nearly leap out of her chest as her smile threatened to tear her mouth apart – that mannerism was the tiniest little reminder that he was still Derek.

And to her side, Tyler – also smiling – noticed the change of expression on her face and just rolled his eyes playfully, knowing that soon the time would come where he would force her to tell Derek just how glad she was to see him again.

But first, there were more questions.

"Who are we?" Angie asked, starting to work to her own advantage – to what she was interested in knowing. It was a question she feared he would not know the answer to, and the scenario had plagued her nightmares for some time now.

"My best friend, Tyler." Derek said with a smile, looking over at the previously mentioned man before his eyes turned back to Angie, his smile taking on a softer appearance as his gaze locked with hers.

"And my assistant – Angie."

Angie felt her heart start to hammer away in her chest, her name on his lips a sound that began to break away at every doubt she had been carrying about ever getting to see him again. She nodded to signify his correct answer and looked back over at Tyler, bouncing the ball back in his court to continue.

"Alright, smart guy," Tyler started with a grin, "if you're so good at this game here, tell me – what's today's date?"

Derek, with a near triumphant smile, opened his mouth to talk before he stopped. The grin bled off his face slowly, brown eyes turning towards Angie for help. Her expression changed as well, searching his eyes with her own to try to figure out what had turned his mood upside-down so quickly.

"What's wrong, Derek? Are you okay?" she asked, reaching her left hand out to place on top of his. He paid it no mind as he looked back to Tyler, softly biting his lip as his eyes turned downward. He appeared to be in deep thought, trying to work out the answer in his head before he turned his gaze back up to Angie, puzzled.

"I have no idea."

-o-

Days after he had been forcibly enrolled into an intensive psychotherapy program, Victor felt himself beginning to make headway on some of the issues that were troubling him.

Dr. Miller was a no-nonsense kind of person, someone the researcher found was easy to talk to and more importantly, respect. He had called Victor out on his attitude and tough exterior from the moment they had started talking, compelling him for once, to be excruciatingly honest with someone other than himself.

The one subject Victor hadn't been able to be open about yet, however, was Derek. He and Dr. Miller had talked at length about the hostage situation and its after-effects, but trying to discuss the near loss of one of his best friends…

It was too much.

The situation did allow him to appreciate the painful irony of everything that had happened to him, realizing how close he was to Derek only after the surgeon had nearly lost his life. He had always allowed Victor to simply be himself, but wasn't afraid to be honest with him when the situation warranted. Usually it ended with Victor shrugging off the gently placed criticism with a sarcastic comment, but he never got to tell Derek that he honestly took everything he said to heart – he regarded his opinion more than almost anyone he knew. It made him wish he could turn back the clock so that he could be a better friend – to show Derek how much of an impression he had made on his life, even though he consistently pretended it never made a dent. He was alive, but with how unstable everything had been thus far – he wasn't sure they would ever be able to make him the same Derek again.

Therapy had forced him to realize he was like that with everyone, though. Even though he gave nothing but grief to Leslie, Angie, and especially Tyler, they truly were among his best friends. He learned first-hand that fateful day that it would take only a split-second for any of them to lose their lives, never knowing how he felt about them – and they almost had.

Wanting to make a change, Victor internally committed himself to doing a better job of not being a jerk to people. He was pretty unsure that he would be able to keep it up all the time, but so long as he was able to tell them all _something_ nice every now and then, he would do it.

For Derek, he would do it.

Thoughts tracing back to his coworkers, Victor realized he should take this change of heart to go and see them, to be there for support and to be supported while they all tried to move on. He had been keeping his distance for two reasons – to prevent everyone from realizing what a sad state he was really in, and because he was using therapy as his lifeline to keep from going absolutely crazy.

But now that he thought of it, it was probably time to close the gap – to begin to return to his life, especially to be there with friends.

He remembered the stale silence that enveloped the waiting room the day Derek was removed from life support like it was still happening, sure for all his life it was something that would never leave his memory. Mrs. Stiles sobbed to herself the whole time, exhaustion besting her as she fell asleep several times, devastated at the loss of what was left of her family. Victor couldn't remember seeing her without tears pouring down her face, some even while she tried desperately to find rest.

Leslie and Tyler sat in silence, the surgeon staring off into space while his girlfriend cuddled herself into his shoulder, reaching up to occasionally wipe her eyes as she continually wept. Like Victor, Tyler eventually had to leave to try to find some space to clear his head, and it was the last time Victor saw him before making the same decision for himself. After he left, Leslie turned her attention to caring for Derek's mother, her selfless attitude something that Victor had always secretly admired about her. Falling apart herself, Leslie continued to assess Elizabeth's condition, and when she decided that the poor woman couldn't stay awake any longer, Leslie retreated from the waiting room. She returned shortly after leaving with a wheelchair, taking an overly exhausted Elizabeth somewhere that would allow her to lay down, and intermittently leaving to check on her after she was gone.

Stephen had been in and out as well, seemingly unable to sit still. A forlorn expression graced his face constantly, his hand reaching up to rub his beard on several occasions as tears pooled in his eyes, though they miraculously did not fall.

Walking into Caduceus in the early morning, Victor prepared himself for another day of therapy as memories of that day berated him, almost excited to get upstairs so that he would have a place to discuss them. Dr. Clarks was the last of his coworkers to cross his mind as he scurried through the lobby to the hospital, stopped only when the doctor at the center of his thoughts called out to him from behind.

Victor slowed to a stop, sighing deeply as he turned around, coming face to face with Stephen.

He knew he would have to talk to real people again soon, he just didn't think it would come so fast.

"Victor, thank God!" the surgeon exclaimed, breathless as he had run to him from clear across the hospital to catch him. "Your phone has been turned off for days – where have you been?!"

Victor idly scratched at his chin, remorse in his eyes. "I'm sorry, Stephen. I didn't mean to worry anyone – I've just… I needed some time to deal."

Stephen nodded gently in understanding. "I know everyone is going through a lot and coping in their own way, but we've been looking for you ever since you left the waiting room…"

"Again, I'm sorry." Victor replied, cutting him off before he could finish, arms dropping back into his pants pockets as he broke eye contact to gaze downward. "I just couldn't stand to be there," he said, slowing down, "…you know, while… while it happened. I know he's alive now, but…"

Stephen's expression changed, finally realizing that _nobody_ had managed to get into contact with the researcher since that day. And because of it, Victor walked around as sad and dejected as the rest of the Caduceus employees, thinking that their famous doctor was still hanging onto life by a thread.

The difference between him and them, however, was that he was privy to a certain piece of information that they were not.

-o-

Derek's reply sent both Angie and Tyler's eyebrows upward just the slightest, not wanting to alarm him or make him feel bad as they traded a glance. The master surgeon, however, picked up on the hint and kept trying.

"You said before I was out for awhile…" he started, expression beginning to change to slight frustration. "…and I feel awful, so it must have been a little bit…" he continued, finally shrugging dejectedly and looking at Tyler for the answer.

The blonde bit his lip softly, arms crossing in front of himself.

"I know this might be hard to hear Derek, but you've been in a coma. You were involved in a hostage situation – do you remember?"

Derek's eyes traced to a blank wall at the back of the room, allowing his mind to wander. Closing his eyes just briefly brought back vivid flashes of the day, though he failed to string them together into a full picture.

"Derek, can you tell us what you remember?" Angie asked softly, hand squeezing his for a source of comfort.

His eyes opened slowly, and he drew in a deep breath.

"I remember…" he started, trailing off to catch his train of thought. "I remember the man, coming into our office. There were a lot of people in there but I don't remember why."

"Good, what else?" Tyler asked.

Derek sighed. "I remember sitting against the wall, next to you," he continued, looking over at Angie, "and I remember him shooting two people – girls."

He stopped, frustration growing in his expression again as he tried to piece the story together.

"I remember hitting him with a bat. I remember a gun to my head, and looking over at you, Angie…" he said, confusion settling in. "And then the last thing I remember is gripping onto the counter with both hands and closing my eyes…"

He stopped.

"I'm sorry – I know there's much more in the middle there, but I feel so foggy… I can't put the rest together."

"It's alright, bud." Tyler said in a comforting tone. "I know it's probably hard to admit it, but we're not looking for perfection here. It's been over two months since that day, and…"

"T-TWO MONTHS?!" Derek exclaimed, trying to sit upright and failing, dropping back against the bed with a huge coughing fit instead. Angie instantly grabbed the mask with humidified oxygen and placed it against his nose and mouth, instructing him to breathe while Tyler just waited for him to settle down. Slowly, he did, and Tyler continued talking.

"I know, dude, I know. Believe me – this has been the longest two months of all our lives, waiting for you to come around. But, it's okay – everything is going to be okay, I promise you."

Derek started to interject again, but was promptly cut off.

"Stop." Tyler said as matter-of-factly as he could. "I know there are a lot of things you're freaking out about, but you can't right now."

The blonde's voice took a sharp descent into sadness as he continued. "We almost had to watch you die, Derek – more than once. We will be the first ones to tell you that no matter what you're freaked out about right now, it's not worth it. You are okay, and I swear to God that's the only thing that matters to anyone. You got it?"

Derek nodded slowly, choosing not to verbally respond.

"He's right." Angie chimed in. "These past months have been hell. But, just getting to hear your voice, Derek," she began, squeezing his hand once as tears filled her eyes, "just getting to sit here and have you looking at us makes absolutely everything we did worthwhile."

Tyler watched as Angie began to get emotional, feeling the sting of his own eyes before cutting it short.

"There will be time for that later – it is undoubtedly the hardest story I will ever have to tell, but it's for a time when you have more strength and energy. Right now, we need to finish checking you out so we can get a baseline here, alright?"

"Okay."

Derek's reply muffled itself behind the mask on his face, though they both still heard it loud and clear.

"Is the mask helping you right now, Derek?" Angie asked, looking at his oxygenation status on the monitor. "Your sats are fine – you don't need it, but if it is making breathing more comfortable we can leave it on for a bit?"

He nodded at her again softly, eyes beginning to droop visibly.

"We're just going to finish assessing you, and then we'll let you get some rest, okay?" Tyler said, putting a stethoscope back in his ears and beginning to listen to various places on Derek's body.

"Are you in pain, Derek?" Angie asked. Her eyes watched as Derek reached up and pulled the mask from his face briefly.

"Not pain – just uncomfortable." He said, replacing his mask.

Angie frowned. "Well, as soon as we're done here, I'll do my best to make you comfy, ok?"

Derek nodded, his eyes closing gently as he waited. Soon, the doctor and nurse were done with their assessment, a paper full of notes ready to be input into the electronic charting system.

"I know it was annoying, but thanks for sticking with us there, Derek – it was really nice to get to talk to you, even if the questions were stupid." Tyler said with a quiet chuckle, Derek smiling as well though his eyes opened only briefly.

"Thanks, Tyler – see you soon."

And with that, Tyler bid farewell to Angie and removed himself from the room in search of some much needed sleep.

As soon as the door clicked shut, Angie turned down the lights to a comfortable level that would still allow her to see. Heels clicked against the tile as she walked over to a cupboard in the corner of the room and pulled some fluffy pillows from it, placing pillowcases on them before walking them over to Derek's bed.

"Okay, Derek." She said, leaning over his face so he could hear her soft voice more clearly. "How are you uncomfortable?"

His hand reached up again, displacing the mask in order to speak.

"My back… really sore."

"From laying in a hospital bed? You don't say!" she joked quietly, giggling as she watched his lips turn up into a soft smile. With a little of his help, she turned him to his right side and placed pillows behind his back to cushion him as he relaxed. Reaching under the blankets, she gently raised his leg and placed another pillow in between his knees to align him properly and keep pressure off his joints. Finally, one last smaller pillow went in front of him, his arm wrapping around it to hug. She adjusted the mask on his face to make sure the straps weren't cutting into his skin, and stepped back to survey her work.

Still standing at his bedside, Angie looked down at him with a soft smile, heart fluttering. She loved taking care of people in general, but this gave her more joy than she had ever remembered feeling as a nurse. Derek looked as peaceful as she had seen him in two months, breathing slowly and deeply, facial expression without a care in the world.

It looked as though the new positioning had put Derek instantly to sleep, and that's why Angie was surprised when she tried to finally step away from his bed, and was stopped before she could do so.

Looking down, her heart began hammering away in her chest again as she noticed Derek had outstretched his arm just long enough to grab her right hand with his left. He didn't hold it tightly, but gave it enough of a gentle squeeze for it to comfort her more than any single thing or person had been able to since the day they had all been taken hostage.

Slowly she looked up at him with eyes wide but gleaming, noticing that though it was just barely, his eyes were open and locked with hers.

"Thank you."

Though it was partially obscured by a mask, Angie heard the soft voice loud and clear, and it instantly brought another round of tears to the surface. Squeezing his hand back, she stepped forward and with the practice she had gained since he had been comatose, leaned forward and planted a gentle kiss on his temple – and even now that he was awake, it still felt calming to her, and like it had become the most natural thing in the world.

Stepping backwards, Angie noticed the smile on Derek's face through the clear plastic that adorned it, his eyes already closed. Slowly, his hand went limp and the smile bled from his face, his body slipping into consciousness with what was the first bit of true affection Angie had shown him since they had known one another. She repositioned his arm after a few moments to make sure he was comfortable, and sighed gently before walking away from his bed.

Faltering when she got close to the door, Angie changed her trajectory and instead, walked to the blanket warmer that resided in the corner of the room. Removing two blankets from it and another pillow from the cupboard, she strolled over to the bench in the corner of the room with a clear view of her doctor, and laid down, ready to pass out.

Angie knew she wanted to wake frequently to check on him, as she was sure she would for many days to come until she could trust that he would still be there, alive and waiting for her.

Sleep would not be great that night, that was for sure.

But for the first time in months, she couldn't have cared less.

-o-

"Victor."

Victor's eyes snapped upward at the commanding tone with which Stephen spoke his name, noticing a hint of a sparkle in the elder doctor's eyes that piqued his curiosity and sent his heart hammering in his chest.

"Victor, I spoke to Angie late last night – they were able to extubate Derek yesterday. He's talking. He's talking, Victor."

Stephen was barely able to finish the sentence without breaking out into a huge grin, eyes on Victor as the researcher tried to make sense of the news, his face stunned.

"I'm sorry, what?" he asked, left side of his mouth turning up into a small smile. It was simply unbelievable – the last he had heard, Derek had been brought back from cardiac arrest and reintubated after being removed from the ventilator, his future prognosis grim after the trauma sustained by trying to wean him from life support. He had made a miraculous turnaround in days, thanks to the help of nearly every physician across Caduceus and the trusted friends that cared for him in ways only those that loved him could.

"I don't know much more than that – I was actually on my way to see him myself, if they're not too busy… would you like to come with me?"

Victor just smiled in response.

"In a little while – I actually have an appointment to make in fifteen minutes…"

He stopped, remembering everything he had learned over the past few days.

"But, thank you, Stephen. I know I probably don't… uh, I don't really…"

Victor paused again. Feelings were hard.

"I'm just thankful to know you."

Stephen raised an eyebrow in surprise and then smiled gently at the sudden outpouring of support from his normally stoic coworker, appreciating the sentiment no matter where it originated.

"I feel the same way, Victor. I'll see you later."

And with that the two men retreated from one another. Within minutes, Victor strolled up to Dr. Miller's office, knocking on the door gently until told to come in. He moved to sit across from the psychiatrist, removing his coat before taking a seat. A gentle smirk graced the researcher's face, and the doctor directly in front of him stared on quizzically, wondering about the circumstances that had brought about a very unexpected change in demeanor.

"Victor, you look better than I've ever seen you." Dr. Miller said. "Spill the beans."

Victor chuckled shortly with an understanding nod.

"Everything we discuss is confidential, right?"

"Absolutely."

"I just got some news…"

He trailed off, smiling again as he made eye contact with the curious psychiatrist.

"And I have a feeling everything's going to be okay."

-o-

While Victor was feeling better, Sidney was feeling worse than he ever remembered.

Greg just stared back at his little brother, wishing he had words to help. He desperately wished that he could say something to make it better, both to help Sidney and selfishly to help himself as well.

But nothing could take that sting away. Robert was dead – it was a sad truth, especially because both felt responsible for not being able to stop it.

The question became, how would they move forward? How would Greg grieve yet another loss of someone so close? How would Sidney do the same, all while solely responsible for Caduceus, its subsidiaries, and while trying to assist his closest friends as they came apart at the seams?

It was the question Sidney had just presented, and neither of them had a solution.

"Believe me, I-I wish I had an answer."

Greg's reply did little to comfort Sidney. The younger twin remained awkwardly hunched against his desk, eyes on the ground as he desperately tried to think. An extreme lack of sleep mixed with emotional exhaustion had completely destroyed any capability Sidney had to form coherent thoughts, which was unfortunate, considering that now was the moment he needed a good idea more than ever.

His train of thought briefly took him to all of the employees closest to him, wondering how he could possibly deliver this news to them. They had already faced so much devastation, and now that joy was starting to find its way back into their lives he couldn't possibly deliver such a blow to that progress…

Sidney stopped short, thoughts centering around someone specific - the only person he felt could possibly help him in that moment. Normally he would take more time and thought before making such a crucial decision, however, he was sure that in his current state, he had little time to act before completely exhausting himself.

As if he was a child walking for the first time, Sidney pushed himself off the ground shakily, relying heavily on his desk and Greg's help to fully stand. He didn't bother to attempt to straighten himself, feeling his energy would be better spent on simply remaining upright. When he saw that Sidney was as steady as he could get, Greg took a step back and looked at him questioningly.

"That was fast…" he said, referring to Sidney's apparently near-instant development of a plan.

"I don't have any more time to waste," he simply said, "come on."

As disheveled as he ever looked in public, Sidney stepped towards the door to his office and threw it open, charging into the hall. Hot on his heels, Greg followed him up a flight of stairs and down a long hallway, arriving to a door belonging to a corner office. The brothers stopped before knocking, trading a glance after Greg read the name on the plaque just outside the door. He nodded to Sidney briefly, knowing it was the right call – even in the midst of everything Sidney had been through, his decision making skills were still rock solid.

A harsh knock at the door prompted the occupant of the office to open the door quickly, face to face with the Kasal brothers. Something was different about them, though – they didn't carry their normal authoritative stances, instead, both appeared torn apart, tears still visibly present in both their eyes.

Stephen Clarks stepped back into his office, worried expression on his face as he held the door open and a hand outstretched, offering both men to come inside. They followed him in and he shut the door behind him, a stalemate between the three broken only when Sidney shakily began the conversation.

"Stephen – we need to talk."

* * *

**Woo, angst!**

**Do me a favor - I know a lot of people have been following this story over the years, so if you still are, drop me a review and let me know what you thought? Thanks buds! See you soon! xo**


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